Competition and Festival of Outdoor Painting
on the North Shore of Lake Superior

2024 Dates: Friday, September 6 to Saturday, September 14, 2024

Registration for 2024 PAGM will open in February. Subscribe to the PAGM Newsletter to be first to know.
PAGM embroidered Caps and Beanies are here—Yay! Hats are embroidered on demand. It takes a couple weeks for delivery.
2023 Competition Exhibit is displayed through October 15, 2023
Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery
115 W. Wisconsin St
Grand Marais, MN 55604

2023 Juror: Kim Casebeer

Plein Air Grand Marais is a 20 year tradition bringing outdoor painters to the North Shore of Lake Superior for a week of painting, learning, competition, and camaraderie. Since 2018, the event has been organized by Outdoor Painters of Minnesota and hosted by the Cook County Historical Society's Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery.
Plein Air Grand Marais welcomes artists of all ages and abilities. The Competition Class consists of invitational and juried painters, who submit four paintings eligible for awards in an exhibit at Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery from the opening reception through early October. The Open Class consists of registered artists who may exhibit their best original painting created during the event in a one-night exhibit and reception. A public art activity at Joy & Co. in downtown Grand Marais offers supervised plein air painting for children and adults and a clothesline art exhibit. A 90-minute Quick Paint competition, daily paint-outs, and Artists Socials are open to all registered artists. Any painter in Grand Marais during Competition Week may register to attend Mini-Workshops with professional plein air Competition Artists or the Juror Workshop on the Saturday after the final reception.

2023 Competition Artists

Susan Aamot
Richard Abraham
David R. Becker
Carl Bretzke
William Check
Lois Clay
​MaryAnn Cleary
Michele Combs
Shanna Cramer
Mark Daehlin
​Jack Dant
Tom Dimock
Tracy Downing McDermott
Allison Eklund
Bridget Ertelt
Carl Everett
Greg Finnegan
John Franz
Katharine Gotham
Paula Gustafson
Nelia Harper
​Susan Hayden
Margie Helstrom
Julie Highlen
Logan Hudson
Julia Jaakola
Matt Kania
Tadas Kosciuska
Chanda Kraft
Deeane Kroll
​Brock Larson
Mark Larson
Cheryl LeClair-Sommer
Dan Mackerman
​Melissa Malen
Sandra Maxwell
Joanne Meierhofer
Kami Mendlik
Jo Nelson
David Peacock
David Pettibone
Jennifer Plourde
​Erin Renier
Kelly Schamberger
​Kurt Schulzetenberg
​Neil Sherman
David Smith
Renee St Leger
​Randy Spry
Mary Agrell Stroeing
Lisa Stauffer
Jeff Steiner
Adam Swanson
Christine Tierney
James Turner
Pat Undis
Bob Upton
Kenneth Valentas
Michelle Wegler
Kathie Wheeler
Stephen Wysocki

Thank you to our community partners and sponsors!

The Cook County Historical Society operates Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery, which hosts the PAGM Competition Exhibit.
Joy & Co., which sells art materials and gifts from its store in downtown Grand Marais, donates gift certificates for Open Class Quick Paint awards, and supervises a public plein air painting activity in their alley during Competition Week.
Visit Cook County awarded a grant to the Cook County Historical Society to fund promotional materials for the event.
Wet Paint has donated funds for PAGM activities and fine art materials from suppliers for PAGM awards.

2023 Workshops

Every year, some of our professional plein air painting instructors competing in the event offer a 3-hour workshop during the week of competition. These popular workshops cost just $50 each and are open to painters of all ability levels, helping to make Grand Marais a destination-painting event for artists to learn from each other and get inspired.
David R. Becker
Carl Bretzke
Jack Dant
Nelia Harper
​Brock Larson
Dan Mackerman
​Kami Mendlik
Kelly Schamberger
Bob Upton
James Turner

Daily Paint-Outs

In 2023, paintings must be painted en plein air in Cook County between August 14 and September 22, 2023 to be eligible for exhibits and awards. Watch for paint-outs and other opportunities to paint together beginning in August. During Competition Week, we'll have daily paint-outs at new and classic locations, including YMCA Camp Menogyn, Lutsen, Artists' Point, Sugarloaf Cove, and a nocturnal paint-out in downtown Grand Marais.

Public Art Activities

Plein Air Grand Marais provides opportunities for community members and visitors to try outdoor painting. Berton Boxes are supervised by local sponsor Joy & Co. for anyone to stop by and create a painting for public display in a picket-fence outdoor "gallery." 

Artists' Socials

Plein Air Grand Marais is more than a painting competition: it is an opportunity for artists of all levels to socialize, learn, and make new connections.

Birney Quick Paint

On Thursday afternoon from 3:30-5:00pm, we have a quick paint competition in honor of Birney Quick, a pillar of Grand Marais's rich history of community arts. This exciting spectator sport attracts visitors to watch the timed all-weather event and was featured in an award winning documentary. Paintings are displayed on the rocks at East Bay near Artists Point and juried for awards immediately after the 90 minute event ends. ​The Birney Quick Paint is open to all registered PAGM artists.

Open Class Reception & Competition Painting Preview in Harbor Park

On Wednesday at 5pm at Harbor Park is our Open Class painting display, reception and awards. On Thursday at 11am before the Quick Paint, Competition artists display paintings for presale and enjoy each other's work.

Hootenanny

It's a Thursday night tradition:  After the Quick Paint, we gather at 7-10pm at the harbor picnic shelter at the Grand Marais Municipal Campground to sing, play music along with our ad-hoc band "The Plain Errors," and celebrate the week's painting achievements.