Paint Cedarburg Brings Artists (and Art Lovers) Outdoors

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Image via Facebook / Cedarburg Artists Guild

Ozaukee County’s popular plein air (outdoors) painting event, Paint Cedarburg, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Paint Cedarburg will be held June 5 through 12 in Cedarburg and other Ozaukee County communities. It includes the usual competitions plus a new Paint the Lake competition for artists capturing the beauty of the Lake Michigan shoreline.    

The weeklong painting event, which attracts around 150 regional and national artists and hundreds of spectators annually, “was started by a couple of artists from Cedarburg who wanted people to come and see our beautiful community,” said Brenda Peterson, a member of the Cedarburg Artists Guild. In addition to Paint Cedarburg’s 20-year anniversary, the Artists Guild turns 40 this year—giving the artists even more reasons to celebrate. “It’s like a double whammy for us,” Peterson added.

On June 6, Fresh from Cedarburg, a one-day event, will feature 150 artists painting in several media, including oil, pastels and acrylic, in Cedarburg’s Historic Downtown. From 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., paintings will be exhibited and available for sale at City Hall, W63 N645 Washington Avenue. Since each artist can create up to three paintings during the event, “it’s quite a lot of art, and it’s created in front of your very eyes,” Peterson added.

The Main Event Gallery Exhibit and Sale will take place June 11 and June 12 at the Cedarburg Cultural Center. A public opening party will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. June 11, with an awards ceremony at 6:30 p.m. All paintings will be available for sale at the Cultural Center June 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Peterson concluded by saying that Paint Cedarburg not only fosters community spirit, it helps local artists who have been hit especially hard financially by the COVID-19 pandemic. “To buy a piece of art in your own neighborhood is such a cool idea.”