Hilly landscapes, blossoming flowers, an alleyway, and a Studebaker truck have toured the Palouse through art for Moscow’s Palouse Plein Air competition.

Plein air is a French term that means “in the open air,” and refers to a method in which artists sit outside and paint what’s right in front of them, said Moscow City Art Assistant DJ Scallorn. Plein air is done live and without any assistance from photographs.

Palouse Plein Air takes that concept and applies it to the Palouse. At the end of a September competition, winners were chosen and the artwork went on a tour to towns around the region. The tour is still active and resting in Colfax this month.

“It’s interesting to see how the Palouse and our area is represented in a variety of artists and media,” Scallorn said.

Most of the local artists are from the Pullman and Moscow areas, but some are from Idaho cities Viola, Lewiston, Troy, and Kendrick. All of the artists were required to paint something to the theme of Plein Air within a 30-mile radius of Moscow.

Andy Sewell painted the Studebaker that won first place in the competition. Titled “Garden Studebaker,” the picture is modeled after a real Studebaker in Sewell’s backyard that he uses as a bed for his vegetable garden.

“Art should be something you want on the wall and pleasing to look at,” Sewell said. “A lot of people can relate to a truck.”

Sewell described the plein air technique as much harder than working in a studio. Because the artists must paint outside, they must deal with weather and the sun’s movement changing the shadows, which affects the look of the painting.

While plein air’s meaning implies a nature theme and most of the artwork includes the natural world, artist Anne Pekie took a more urban approach and painted an alleyway of downtown Moscow.

Pekie described her art technique as a method of finding character, be it in nature or in a city scene. Drawn to the alley because of its mysteriousness, a graffiti-covered wall and random pictures hanging on others brought an unplanned design that Pekie found interesting. 

“It was very thought provoking as to what went into that unique combination of things on that wall,” Pekie said.

Because of paintings like this, Scallorn described Palouse Plein Air as a unique artistic event. She’s seen a wide variety of paintings displayed in watercolors, oils, acrylics, and encaustics (wax).

“I always love seeing how the artists represent our area,” Scallorn said. “It’s wonderful.”

The artwork is currently on display at the Colfax branch of the Whitman County Library, which is its last stop before the art is returned to the artists in April. Business hours can be found on its website colfaxpubliclibrary.org.