Artists from the Palouse area gather in Moscow for the fourth annual Palouse Plein Air.

French for “in open air,” plein air embodies the practice of painting outdoors.

DJ Scallorn is an art assistant for the City of Moscow. She said Aaron Johnson, volunteer coordinator for the Moscow Arts Commission, was the driving force behind the creation of Palouse Plein Air. Johnson had participated in other Plein Air competitions in the area and across the country and thought Moscow needed one, Scallorn said.

“The idea is to invite artists to come in, to see the Palouse, to see the beauty, and then paint a painting that inspires them,” Johnson said.

Participants registered their painting surfaces at Moscow City Hall. There they were time-stamped to ensure all paintings were done during the course of the competition, Scallorn said.

The competition allowed all painting media and required artists to work within a 30-mile radius of Moscow. The eight-day competition was open to everyone 18 or older.

Johnson said this year there were over 20 participants, and his goal is to include more participants and a larger audience every year.

University of Idaho senior Forrest Dickison took second place at last year’s competition and is competing again. A fine arts major, Dickison grew up drawing. He said he knew Johnson as a graduate student at University of Idaho, and Johnson talked him into Palouse Plein Air.

“Plein Air painting is super fun because it kind of combines the outdoorsy adventure aspect with painting,” Dickison said. “It definitely takes some getting used to. Ninety percent of the paintings I do outside are failures. You always have to be prepared for things like the rain.”

Johnson said the event introduces the community to artists from different areas and backgrounds.

“We get to see how other people view the Palouse,” Johnson said. “It introduces the community to new artists, emerging artists, maybe an artist that’s lived here their whole life and we’ve never seen their work.”

The paintings will be delivered to the Third Street Gallery by noon on Friday. Judging will take place there, and prizes for first, second and third place will be awarded during a reception at the gallery from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The reception is free and open to the public. The first place winner will receive a $250 cash prize.