2025 Plein Air Grand Marais was a joy! Join us next year for Competition Week: September 11-19, 2026
Outdoor Painters of Minnesota is a 501(c)3 charitable nonprofit formed to promote and share the practice of outdoor (plein air) painting. We are governed by an all-volunteer board of directors. Our 2025 membership is over 200, and we welcome new members of all backgrounds at every level of experience. OPM strives to coordinate outdoor painting activities, develop opportunities to exhibit together, educate both artists and non-artists in plein air painting, and inspire awareness of the beauty found in nature through painting outdoors.
News | Workshops | Events
Rosters for some upcoming events are available on OPM's Members Only page. We encourage painters to contact each other for carpooling, painting pickup, and friendship.
OPM's Annual Meeting on November 8, 2025: New President, Address, and Phone
At our Annual Meeting on November 8, we elected Kelly Schamberger (Duluth, MN) as our new President. Welcome Kelly! We are fortunate to have our outgoing President, Greg Finnegan, remain on the Board to represent southeastern Minnesota in our increasingly statewide membership growth. Watch for paint-outs this year hosted by members throughout greater Minnesota.
OPM has also approved a change of registered office address to Duluth, Minnesota, to reflect the concentration of our annual activities in the Arrowhead region. Plein Air Grand Marais, Winter Plein Air, and Plein Air Duluth have become staples of our annual programming, so we decided to stake our residency in the area. We also have a phone and phone number. To reduce spam and scam texts and emails, we will publish our phone number on our Members Only page.
You may now renew your calendar-year OPM membership. The password for our members only page will remain the same until January 1, 2026. For a reminder of the password, members may email Kelly or Allison.
Thanks to all our members for your support, and cheers to an exciting new year of outdoor painting opportunities with OPM!
OPM has also approved a change of registered office address to Duluth, Minnesota, to reflect the concentration of our annual activities in the Arrowhead region. Plein Air Grand Marais, Winter Plein Air, and Plein Air Duluth have become staples of our annual programming, so we decided to stake our residency in the area. We also have a phone and phone number. To reduce spam and scam texts and emails, we will publish our phone number on our Members Only page.
You may now renew your calendar-year OPM membership. The password for our members only page will remain the same until January 1, 2026. For a reminder of the password, members may email Kelly or Allison.
Thanks to all our members for your support, and cheers to an exciting new year of outdoor painting opportunities with OPM!
Member Show at FrameWorks
Minnesota Plein Air Collective (MPAC) 2026 Exhibit at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum
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Art of the Lakes, Outdoor Painters of Minnesota, and Red Wing Arts — the nonprofit organizers of Minnesota's three premier plein air painting competitions in Battle Lake, Grand Marais, and Red Wing — have teamed up to promote their events and painters by mounting an annual exhibit of plein air paintings in different locations around Minnesota.
Our 2026 exhibit will be at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona. Exhibition Dates: May 16 – September 13, 2026 |
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Paint-Outs
OPM members and community organizations are invited to contact our paint-out director to schedule paint-outs, which are open to all members and their guests. We try to schedule at locations with accessible parking and access to facilities. Pop-up exhibits and opportunities to sell off-the-easel are occasionally included. Please be welcoming of visitors' questions and consider yourselves ambassadors of OPM and of plein air painting.
Want to host a paint-out (or indoor paint-in)?
Contact OPM's paint-out director, Matt Kania, to suggest a good place and time to bring painters together.