Antoine Dutot Museum & Gallery

Contributing writer for Ridge View Echo, Chip O’Chang, recently featured our Annual Plein Air Exhibit and Silent Auction.

‘En Plein Air’ Painting Tradition Continues with Delaware Water Gap Artists

Wander through the town of Delaware Water Gap, PA this week, or through the nearly 70,000 acres of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, and you might stumble upon a sight out of a story book: a lone painter outside, capturing nature on her canvas in the open air.

The practice of starting and finishing paintings entirely outdoors, with no retreat to an indoor studio, is called painting en plein air– French for “in the open air.” A centuries-old practice, it became the signature method of French impressionists like Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

Now, the Antoine Dutot Museum in the town of Delaware Water Gap is celebrating the resurgence of this art form with its Eighth Annual Plein Air Exhibit and Silent Auction.

While other en plein air events require an application or even an exclusive invitation, any artist can participate in the Dutot Museum’s paint out. Artists have between now and July 25th to complete up to four paintings done entirely en plein air, depicting anything in town or in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Read the full article →

Join Us!

You’re invited to join us for Annual Plein Air Exhibit and Silent Auction, Saturday, July 29 from 1:00-4:00pm. Artwork will also be available on Sunday, July 30.

July 7 – July 23
Teachers and Students: A Dialogue
Work by Jim Gloria and his students
Christine Wilson and Jackie Campisi
Opening Reception: Friday, July 7 from 7-9pm

After finishing his BFA in Scenic and Costume design for theater at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, James continued work as an apprentice designer and painter. In 1989 he started his own decorative arts business, painting murals and faux finishes throughout the East Coast of the U.S.

A desire to extend his arts education led James to fresco classes at Parsons School of Design, and to a workshop in Italy to study the 16th c. technique of Scagliola. The obscurity of this lost art inspired him to return to Venice in 2002 for further study, and to begin documenting and teaching the technique along with mural and faux finishes. It also sparked an interest in other plaster techniques along with Scagliola. James has published articles on venetian plaster and fresco.

To learn more: JamesGloria.com →

June 16 – July 2
A Tribute to Ed Lopez, Curated by Penny Ross
Opening Reception: Friday, June 16 from 7-9pm

Our second show this season will be a show of the work of Ed Lopez.

We were very happy when we approached Ed last summer to invite him to show this season and he readily agreed. So it is with great sadness that I have to share with those who may not know that Ed passed away in January after a brief illness.

We have decided to proceed with a tribute show that will be curated by, and feature the work in the collection of Penny Ross. Penny has been a close friend of Ed’s for over 45 years and an avid collector of his work since she bought her first piece in the 1970s.

Ed Lopez epitomized the ideal of the artist unbent by commercial pressure. He left a lucrative career as a graphic designer in NYC to pursue art full time, living out of his van for one 10 year stretch; in Florida in the winter and in the Poconos in the summer.

He is well known for unfolding brown paper grocery bags and painting on those. But don’t be fooled by those modest means. Ed was a sure-handed draftsman of the first rank and a bold and decisive colorist, one of the finest artists to ever work in the Poconos.

He will be missed, and we are honored to be showing his work.

The 2023 En Plein Air Paint Out will take place from Sunday, July 9 to Wednesday, July 26. A reception and auction will be held Saturday, July 29 with the work also available on Sunday, July 30.

This annual paint out and auction raises funds to continue our programing, support our local artists, and share the beauty of the Delaware Water Gap through a unique lens.

Painting en plein air is the act of painting outdoors in the open air. While creating en plein air can be done anywhere, this event provides geographic boundaries that encourage artists to portray scenes local to the Dutot, resulting in an intimate storytelling of this special area.

Artists interested in participating should download the Prospectus and Entry Form for details.

Prospectus and Entry Form