Sonoma Plein Air goes virtual

The artists of the Sonoma Plein Air Festival should be arriving now to start painting along Highway 12 or tucked away in a private vineyard. The week-long festivities related to the festival should have culminated in the community enjoying an outdoor exhibition of paintings on Saturday, Sept. 12.

But 2020 is a year like no other. Instead, the Sonoma Plein Air Foundation has invited 37 artists to bring the show online in a virtual festival, #SonomaPleinAir2020.

During the originally scheduled Festival week (from Sept. 7 to 12), the Sonoma Plein Air Foundation is hosting an online exhibit featuring new paintings from the artists who were scheduled to be at this year’s event. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, these artists lost the opportunity to come to Sonoma to show and sell their work this year, so the Plein Air board wanted to give the artists a chance to share their wonderful paintings with those who would have seen them in person on the Plaza.

The exhibit, called #SonomaPleinAir2020, opened on the Sonoma Plein Air Foundation website sonomapleinair.com on Sept. 7 and closes on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 4 p.m.

“We’ve all been going through challenging times during the pandemic, and it’s tough to predict what our future will look like,” said Jennifer Parr, SPAF Board Co-President, in a press release announcing the online exhibit. “But we know one thing for sure: Art must be part of that future!”

The nonprofit Sonoma Plein Air Foundation said it is committed to continuing to support art education and experiences for the kids and the communities of Sonoma Valley, as well as for the professional artists who make the annual Sonoma Plein Air Festival a success each year.

Contact Lorna at lorna.sheridan@sonomanews.com.