Plein Air Grand Marais

Plein Air Grand Marais is an annual tradition since 2008 bringing outdoor painters to the North Shore of Lake Superior for a week of painting, learning, competition, and camaraderie. Since 2018, the event has been organized by Outdoor Painters of Minnesota and hosted by the Cook County Historical Society’s Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery.

Plein Air Grand Marais welcomes artists of all ages and abilities. The Competition Class consists of invitational and juried painters, who submit four paintings eligible for awards in an exhibit at Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery from the opening reception through early October. The Open Class consists of registered artists who may exhibit their best original painting created during the event in a one-night exhibit and reception.

A public art activity at Joy & Co. in downtown Grand Marais offers supervised plein air painting for children and adults and a clothesline art exhibit. A 90-minute Quick Paint competition, daily paint-outs, and Artists Socials are open to all registered artists. Any painter in Grand Marais during Competition Week may register to attend Mini-Workshops with professional plein air Competition Artists or the Juror Workshop on the Saturday after the final reception.