Outdoor Painting Contest at Smith-Gilbert Gardens

Kennesaw’s Smith-Gilbert Gardens is hosting its fifth plein air, or outdoor, painting competition from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 2-3. This judged competition is an event hosted by the Smith-Gilbert Gardens Foundation.

The goal is to encourage diverse artistic interpretations of the plant material, sculpture and historic home located at Smith-Gilbert Gardens.

The competition will bring together serious artists that use visual art as a major interpretive medium of the landscape while also raising awareness of the need to protect our environment and encourage a future generation of caretakers of our planet. Dee Beard Dean, founder of the Plein Air Painters of the Southeast (PAP-SE), a professional organization of acclaimed plein air artists living and working in the southeastern United States, will be judging. More than $1,000 in cash prizes will be awarded.

Smith-Gilbert is a 16 acre collector’s garden with unlimited inspiration for artists. Along with over 3,000 plant species, the Gardens are home to 31 pieces of sculpture and the historic Hiram Butler House (ca. 1881). Visit www.smithgilbertgardens.com to sign up or call 770-919-0248 to register.  Registration fee is $30.

Editor's note: This was written by Kennesaw spokeswoman Pam Davis.