Open Studios Boulder County

The artists have been out there all week — in the sun, in the wind, painting Boulder County on location in real time. Today, you get to see what they created.

🎉 Opening Reception: 2026 Boulder County Plein Air Exhibit 📅 Friday, June 5 | 5:30–8 PM 📍 Park Coworking | 2040 14th Street, Boulder (next door to the Boulder Theater)

Awards will be announced at 6:30 PM, and every painting will be available for purchase.

Whether you're an avid collector or have never bought art before, this is a wonderful way to bring home an authentic, original piece of Boulder County — painted right here, this week, by an artist who lives and works in our community.

The exhibit stays up through June 30 if you can't make the opening, but the reception is the best night to meet the painters and be there for the awards. We hope to see you there.

openstudios.org/plein-air-festival

Take a look at what's been happening across Boulder County this week.

Gretchen Acharya has been painting along Boulder Creek, at Varsity Lake, and up into Boulder Canyon — easel set up right at the water's edge, capturing turtles, reflections, and canyon light on location.

Keith French has been ranging further: the Flatirons from the east, the mailboxes and old cabins of Gold Hill, Pearl Street alive with summer foot traffic and color.

Two artists. Six paintings. Dozens of locations still to come.

This is the 2026 Boulder County Plein Air Community Event — 50 Colorado artists painting this place exactly as it looks right now, all week long. Every one of the 250 finished paintings will be on view and available for purchase starting Friday night.

🎉 Opening Reception + Sale
📅 Friday, June 5 | 5:30–8 PM
📍 Park Coworking | 2040 14th Street, Boulder (next door to the Boulder Theater)
🏆 Awards announced at 6:30 PM

Free and open to the public. Come meet the artists and see Boulder County through their eyes.

openstudios.org/plein-air-festival

This Sunday, the painting begins.

The 2026 Boulder County Plein Air Community Event kicks off May 31, when 50 Colorado artists — many of them local — fan out across Boulder County with their easels, paints, and a commitment to capturing this place exactly as it is.

For six days, they'll paint in the foothills, in open meadows, at the Farmers Market, along our historic streetscapes. Every brushstroke happens on location, in real time. Every finished piece will be a one-of-a-kind record of Boulder County in the spring of 2026.

Two free public paint-outs next week where you can watch artists at work: 📍 Chautauqua Park | Tuesday, June 2 | 9 AM–5 PM 📍 Boulder Farmers Market | Wednesday, June 3 | 3:30–7:30 PM

And then join us Friday, June 5, 5:30–8 PM for the opening reception and sale at Park Coworking in Boulder, where you can meet the artists and take home a piece of what they made.

openstudios.org/plein-air-festival

Mark your calendars — the public paint-outs for the 2026 Boulder County Plein Air Community Event are happening next week, and they're free and open to everyone.

A paint-out is one of the most fun and accessible ways to experience art: dozens of artists set up in the same location and paint simultaneously, and the public is invited to watch, wander, and ask questions. Plein air artists are known for being welcoming — this isn't a formal gallery setting but art happening in real time, outdoors, in places you already love.

📍 Chautauqua Park | Tuesday, June 2 | 9 AM–5 PM 📍 Boulder Farmers Market | Wednesday, June 3 | 3:30–7:30 PM

No registration required. Bring the kids, bring your coffee, and come see Boulder County through an artist's eyes.

Learn more at openstudios.org/plein-air-festival and save the date for the Opening Reception: June 5, 5:30-8:00 PM at Park Coworking, 2040 14th St, Boulder, CO 80302 (next to the Boulder Theater).

Did you know plein air painting has a 200-year history — and it all started with a simple invention?

In the 1830s, the collapsible paint tube allowed artists to carry fully prepared oil paints into the field for the first time. French landscape painters rushed out of their studios and into the open air. The Impressionists — Monet, Renoir, Pissarro — followed, chasing the way light changes by the hour, by the season, by the weather.

Today, plein air is experiencing a vibrant revival among contemporary painters who prize its honesty and discipline. And Boulder County — with its iconic Flatirons, pastoral farmlands, and historic downtowns — is one of the most beautiful places in the country to practice it.

This May 31–June 5, Open Studios' 2026 Boulder County Plein Air Community Event brings 50 Colorado artists together to do just that. We think you're going to love what they create.

Learn more: openstudios.org/plein-air-festival

Painting by Deb McCahan, 2025

Have you ever heard the term "plein air" and wondered what it actually means? You're not alone — and we're here to explain, because starting May 31, you'll have a front-row seat to watch it happen.

Plein air (from the French "en plein air" — "in the open air") is the practice of painting outdoors, on location, in front of the actual subject. No photos, no studio, no second chances. The light changes, the weather shifts, and the artist commits to capturing what's there, right now.

Open Studios is proud to present the 2026 Boulder County Plein Air Community Event and Exhibit, May 31–June 5.

This year, 50 Colorado artists — many of them your neighbors — will fan out across Boulder County to paint its meadows, foothills, historic streetscapes, and farmers' markets in real time. The finished paintings will be exhibited and available for sale throughout June.
More details coming this week — including how you can watch the artists at work, for free.

Learn more at openstudios.org/plein-air-festival.