For the past eight years, artists all over the region have participated in Paint it Orange — a competition hosted by the Orange County Arts Commission where participating artists travel to different historic and outdoor sites and capture them in a work of art.
Katie Murray, director of the Commission, said that 90 artists will be participating in this year’s event, which is the largest turnout to date. The competition began on Sept. 27.
The wide variety of artists, hailing from towns like Chapel Hill, Durham, Hillsborough and beyond, often leads to a diverse collection of works made for the event, featuring numerous landmarks across the county.
Because of this, artists must adapt to ever-changing outdoor conditions. Marcia McDade McMann, who works with a variety of mediums, said that a major challenge of plein air, or open-air painting, is the changes in lighting.
She added that it’s challenging to paint subjects over different times of the day, so she constantly needs to adjust her approach in order to capture a fleeting moment on her canvas.
McMann has participated in the paint-out for three consecutive years. One of her biggest motivations for taking part in the competition is to better herself creatively, as she is not normally a plein air artist.
“So I always do it, even though all the things happen, your canvas falls on the ground, grass gets in your paint, all the technical problems that one might have out in a limited situation with your paint and your easel,” she said.
Emily Anderson, a Chatham County native and another artist participating in the event, typically sketches out what she wants to paint first as a way to mitigate some of the challenges of open-air painting.
Anderson said her work goes beyond just paint strokes on a canvas. Her paintings for this event have been a way for her to pay homage to her hometown.
