As part of OMA’s inaugural Plein Air Festival (July 24-31, 2021) artists at all levels of experience were invited to come to the burgeoning coastal city of Oceanside to paint Southern California in the open air. Oceanside offers gorgeous coastlines, charming cityscapes, peaceful lagoons, rolling hills with lush ora and fauna, and the historic Mission San Luis Rey, among other visual splendor to capture in any artistic media.

Each festival participant completed multiple artworks en plein air (French for “outdoors”) during the course of the week, from which the jurors Scott W. Prior, Jean Stern, and OMA Executive Director Maria Mingalone selected for this exhibition. 40 artworks were juried from submissions by the nearly 240 participants, including artwork by featured artists Mark Fehlman, Danny Griego, Margaret Larlham, and Shuang Li. 

The 2021 Plein Air Festival Juried Exhibition is a stunning showcase of original plein air works of art representing Southern California’s natural beauty and urban environments in a variety of media, all created over the course of one exciting week. This exhibition is also a rare opportunity to collect artworks from prominent plein air painters through a virtual silent auction. Proceeds bene the artists and OMA’s Exhibition Fund.