Events: Arizona - Phoenix - Scottsdale

Yavapai College’s Prescott Art Gallery invites one and all to its annual celebration of our surrounding natural beauty, and the craft of those who capture it on canvas. YC Prescott Art Gallery presents Art in the Pines: The 6th Annual Prescott Plein Air Festival, August 27 to 31, at the Prescott Campus Gallery and selected scenic locations around Prescott. See the full schedule here: https://ycvisualarts.com/artinthepines2023-1.

Art in the Pines will feature 19 artists – 17 from Arizona and two from California – painting Prescott’s beautiful pine forests, highland lakes, and charming, historic downtown architecture. The public will be able to observe and engage with the artists, as they paint at specific accessible demonstration sites, at no cost. 

On Friday, August 29, the public is invited to join all 18 Plein Air artists on the grounds of Sharlot Hall Museum (415 W. Gurley Street, in Prescott) from 8 a.m. to Noon. On Saturday, August 30, spectators can watch the artists paint at Watson Lake from 6 a.m. to Noon.

The festival will conclude with a ticketed public gala reception, art sale and presentation of artist awards on Sunday, August 31 from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Yavapai College Prescott Art Gallery and the Jim and Linda Lee Performing Arts Center. Attendees can visit with the artists and purchase their paintings directly. The reception will feature complimentary catering from Prescott’s famous El Gato Azul restaurant.

In weeks leading up to this year’s Prescott Plein Air Festival, the YC Prescott Art Gallery will hold an online charity auction (July 18 – August 26, 2025, https://event.gives/pleinair) of signature paintings donated by each festival artist. Auction proceeds will support scholarships, student art prizes at Yavapai College, and festival awards.