A special Rocky Mountain Plein Air art show is coming to Rocky Mountain National Park/“Autumn Enchantment” by Stephen Datz

The Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters, in partnership with Rocky Mountain National Park and the Rocky Mountain Conservancy, will hold a special art show and sale August 13-16, at the historic Stanley Hotel Concert Hall.

This event is the companion exhibition to last fall’s Centennial Celebration paint-out and show, and is part of the Rocky Mountain National Park Centennial, which is a year-long commemoration and celebration of Rocky Mountain's first century as one of the country’s outstanding national parks. 

This event gathers both studio and plein air paintings from 22 nationally recognized professional artists hailing from all over the United States. The works they send will all have been created during the park's centennial year (Sept 4, 2014-September 4, 2015) and will feature the park as their subject matter. Each painting will also be accompanied by a commemorative certificate, signed by Rocky Mountain National Park Superintendent Vaughn Baker.

The works will be displayed at the Stanley Hotel Concert Hall starting Thursday, August 13 at 6 p.m. A gala reception will be held at 6 p.m. that evening. The show will run through Sunday, August 16 at 3 p.m.

Other event activities will include:

* A special ticketed Patron Preview of the show will be offered from 5 p.m.-6 p.m. on Thursday, August 13. Tickets are $100 and are available by calling the Rocky Mountain Conservancy at 970-586-0108. Preview ticket holders will have a “first look” at the show and the opportunity to purchase show paintings before they are available to the general public. $80 of the ticket price is applied toward the purchase of a painting, and each patron will be acknowledged with a card and ribbon hung next to their chosen painting.

* A “Mentoring Paint Out” will be held at Sprague Lake on Friday, August 14 from 9 a.m.-11 a.m. Event artists will be encouraging and advising local kids as they create paintings on location. Parents wishing to register their child must register in person at the Fall River Visitor Center between August 10-13. Participation is limited to 20 students aged 12-16. Materials will be provided for the students courtesy of Jerry’s Artarama Art Supplies in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Artist Demonstrations are scheduled for Saturday, August 15. The first will be from 9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. at the Fall River Visitor Center. The second will be at the Stanley Hotel from 4 p.m.-6 p.m. The public is invited to come and get a glimpse of the artistic process in action. 

A details and a complete schedule of events can be found at www.rmpap.org.

The reception and artist demonstrations are free and open to the public.

The event benefits the Rocky Mountain Conservancy, with 39 percent of the proceeds from the sale of works at the show going to the purchase of a private inholding within the park.