Evanston’s Plein Air festival, which brought artists and their painted-in-the-open-air art to the city, wrapped up Sunday with awards and a culmination of many opportunities to see artists create and display their talents with eager art appreciators at their sides.
Mary Flack of Chicago, whose art studio is in Skokie, paints during the Plein Air Festival Paint Out at Evanston Farmers Market on Saturday. (Phil Rockrohr/for Pioneer Press)
The fourth annual festival, which was sponsored by nonprofit arts organization Evanston Made, started at the beginning of July with gallery displays, then heated up with paint-outs, in which artists set up their easels outdoors and created paintings on the spot, from July 16-19. The locations included Noyes Street, Downtown Evanston, the Main Dempster Mile and the Farmers Market.
Morgan Murphy of Chicago paints “Flowers at Farmers Market” during the Plein Air Festival Paint Out at Evanston Farmers Market on Saturday. (Phil Rockrohr/for Pioneer Press)
Friday brought a block party sponsored by the Main Dempster Mile, and artists received a cornucopia of awards Sunday. To learn who won, and see photos of their art, as well as creations of all participating artists, visit https://evanstonmade.org/.
Hundreds of people attended the Plein Air Festival Paint Out during the Evanston Farmers Market on Saturday, July 19, 2025. (Phil Rockrohr/for Pioneer Press)