2026 Sponsors
What is Plein Air?
Representational landscape drawings or paintings made in real time outdoors –
Hundreds of Plein Air art competitions occur nationally every year. In these events, artist’s have a set time frame to create work & submit pieces to a juried exhibition with the chance to win prizes & recognition. For many artist, the Plein Air world is their full time job; traveling hundreds of miles to paint the intense diversity of the American Landscape.
Many artists will be painting throughout the week Downtown and at Hyalite. If you spot an artists with a BAM name tag, say hi! Public events like our Art Walk on Peet’s Hill and our Quick Draw on the morning of Saturday July 25th will be the best way to guarantee seeing artwork made live. Find the full schedule below.
2026 Painting Schedule
Follow us on Instagram or Facebook @bozemanartmuseum for live updates…
July 19-25th – Artist in town for Paint Out Week
Monday July 20th 1-2:30pm – Kids Plein Air Pastel Workshop at Bozeman Public Library
Monday July 20th 5-8pm – MAP Brewing Company Pint Night with Bozeman Art Museum – come meet us and see some artists paint live from the MAP porch!
Wednesday July 22nd 9am-4pm – Plein Air Watercolor Demo & Class with artist David Orrin Smith, $95, Sign up here.
Wednesday July 22nd 7:30-9:30pm – Art Walk on Peet’s Hill – find artists painting live at the top of Peet’s hill near the Knolls at Hillcrest Park (there is a small parking lot and bathroom at this entrance to the trail, parking here mean a very short walk with no hill to scale)
Saturday July 25th 9-11am – Morning Quick Draw at Cherry River Fishing Access, Local non-competing artists are also invited to create work at this Paint Out to show & sell in the Plein Air MT exhibition
Saturday July 25th Noon – Quick Draw Pre-Sale at Bozeman Art Museum (get a sneak peak before our main opening and first pick of quick draw work)
Saturday July 25th 6-8pm – Opening Reception (Online Sales Open at 6pm)
September 19th – Exhibition at BAM Ends
Judge
Alissa Banks of A. Banks Gallery
Awards
Best of Show
Best Body of Work
Purchase Prize
Artist’s Choice
Prizes
¼ page Ad in Plein Air Magazine
Half page Ad in Western Art & Architecture
Museum purchases work to add to BAM’s permanent collection
Artist’s Choice Plaque
What to expect from Plein Air MT 2026…
Twenty seven artist from across the country will be juried in to participate in this week long painting competition in Bozeman, Montana between July 19-25th with a large opening reception on July 25th from 6-8pm. Artist’s will live in Bozeman for the week and paint the local views, buildings, mountains, & rivers of Gallatin & Park counties. Recommended painting spots for the artists, public events, additional opportunities to participate (volunteer support or local artist quick draw participation), & ways to meet our competing artists will be available online at this page.
Family Events! We will be hosting a Plein Air Pastel workshops with Bozeman Public Library on Monday July 21st from 1-2:30pm. Learn the basics of how to translate what you see to paper. Great for kids ages 6+ and anyone interested in trying out some Plein Air.
All work will be for sale online and in-person at BAM through September 19th. Online Sales open July 25th at 6pm, unsold Quick Draw work will be available online the following week.
Want to get involved but not a professional artist?
Please feel welcome to attend any of the event’s listed above to see our artist work in person! We also have opportunities for volunteers, local non-competing artist, kids who are looking for classes, & VIP access to events. Please visit our volunteer page or email emlyn@bozemanartmuseum.org to see how you can be involved in PAM ’26.
Interested in sponsoring Plein Air Montana?
Check out our sponsorship page for more info or contact emlyn@bozemanartmuseum.org. Thank you to our 2025 presenting sponsors Western Art & Architecture, Plein Air Magazine, Lake Flato Architects, & Montana Trails Gallery and our 2025 participating sponsors Blick Art Materials, Legion Paper, & Bozeman Community Food Co-Op who gave to elevate the Plein Air community here in Montana. In kind sponsorships of art supplies, photo/video support, or additional volunteer help for 2026 are greatly appreciated!
The Bozeman Art Museum has been hosting Plein Air Montana since 2021. Check out our past events and schedules to learn more.
Bozeman Art Museum is a non-profit art museum with the mission to Educate, Enrich, and Inspire the Bozeman community.
Through our in-school art program, free community classes, artist meet & greets, lectures, & events like the Art Fair and Plein Air Montana, we hope to teach the next generation of creatives, connect artists and the community, and create environments for creation. This program is made possible by donors like you!
