Artists Invade Waitsfield, But It's Still Safe to Go Outdoors

The Vermont Festival of the Arts brings art and artists of all stripes to the Mad River Valley throughout the month of August. But this weekend, hoo boy, it will be a veritable invasion. More than 45 artists are expected to be sprawled along Main Street, or ensconced in gardens, fields, by rivers and God knows where else.

You’d think they owned the place.

The species is pretty harmless, though: They’re plein-air painters. You know, guys and gals who tote their easels and paint sets wherever a pretty landscape beckons, set up shop and get down to the business of creating nature’s little doppelgängers on canvas or paper. It’s a challenging job, but someone’s got to do it.

I’ve always wondered what outdoor painters do if a bug flies into the paint. Or when, you know, they have to pee. But I digress.

This weekend at the Plein Air Paint Out, artists will be in a bit of a rush. After painting all day Friday and Saturday, they are required to gather at the Paint-Out headquarters on Bridge Street at 3 p.m. for a sidewalk art show and sale. So that paint had better be dry!