2026 Plein Air Biennial breaks records, raising nearly $35,000 to benefit FCA

The Floyd Center for the Arts’ fifth Plein Air Biennial hosted 30 curated artists from around the country to create paintings inspired by Floyd’s natural beauty and culture. The Sept. 14-19 event included free-to-the-public artist demonstrations, meet-the-artists wet paint sales, a Quick Draw Contest, a Festive Soiree with a buffet dinner, and a Gala Art Sale and Festival Awards Presentation. 

“It’s about experiencing a place in the moment, and Floyd offers an incredible variety of landscapes, light, and character for artists to explore,” Joli Ayn Wood, chair of Floyd’s Plein Air Biennial, said. The week-long event features visiting and local artists alike painting in the open air of Floyd County to capture its natural beauty.

Throughout the schedule of events, a total of 66 unique artworks were sold, generating a total of  $34,803. All event proceeds benefit the FCA and its mission to provide art education to all in the community.

At the Thursday night Soiree, held at the EcoVillage Event Center, Wood thanked the artists and patrons for coming and outlined the upcoming program events. She acknowledged this year’s Plein Air Judge Deliece Blanchard, an award-winning artist from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Blanchard was recently honored with the 2026 Outstanding Achievement in Landscape Award at the American Women Artists National Juried Exhibition.

FCA Executive Director Keela Dooley Marshall thanked lead event sponsor Clark Gas & Oil Company and local businesses that helped make the event possible. “Blue Ridge Florist donated flowers and a flower centerpiece that raised $160 for the Center,” Marshall noted, adding that Floyd Xpress provided coupons for artists to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Some Soiree attendees donned semi-formal attire, and the dinner, prepared by local chef Michael Gucciardo, was an elegant affair. It included Asian pears with gorgonzola, shrimp ceviche, and Italian sliders with pistachio pesto and olive tapenade. Desserts included small cakes and Rote Grutze, a flavorful German red berry compote made by FCA volunteer Barbara von Claparede. The evening also featured a Small Art Sale with original live paintings donated by the Plein Air artists to benefit FCA and music by Mike Mitchell and Jennifer Brooke.

Wood, who grew up in Roanoke and lived in Floyd for 16 years, currently lives on the north shore of Boston, Massachusetts. She spoke on her role in bringing plein air to the Center, as both an artist and a past FCA board member. “I thought, wouldn’t it be cool to invite artists to Floyd to paint — would they come? And, would they come this far? The answer was yes.”

She gave some insight into how the participating artists are selected. She explained that FCA officials put out a national call for artists, who are then asked to complete an application and submit up to five images. Wood added that the selection committee typically includes someone with an academic art background, someone from the FCA (which this year was director Marshall), and a collector, along with herself. They work via conference call.

“It’s an anonymous jury system,” Wood said. “We look at all the images. Each of the artists is numbered. We do our own yays, nays, and maybes. We look for a variety of styles and voices. Mediums include acrylic, oils, water mediums, and pastels,” she said, adding that it's also an invitational event. “We invite back award winners from previous years. They either accept or decline. They have to consider their schedule for the year. Some of these artists go from place to place. I would say at least half of the people that are here this week are going somewhere else next week,” Wood said.

Rajendra KC, a watercolor artist from Nepal who is now based in Northern Virginia, was a returning artist from the 2024 event. He is an example of an artist who travels the plein air circuit. “This year, I signed up for 15 events, and this is my 12th,” he said. KC took Best in Show at the 2024 Floyd Plein Air. Also returning was William Hendricks (2024 second-place winner) and Leo Stafsnes (2024 third-place winner), who traveled from Oregon.

On Friday, artists spread throughout downtown Floyd and its surroundings to live paint outdoors. Painter Alex Eisenzopf from Western North Carolina found a shady spot on the FCA campus to paint the old vacant church – once a Black church and later an electrical supply store – next to the Floyd Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealership. It was his second time attending Floyd Plein Air. “When I was here two years ago, every time I drove past that church, I thought I’d like to paint it, and this is my opportunity,” he said.

Tami Louco, a painter from Central New York, set up her easel at art educator Catherine Pauley’s garden lookout. “I love hills and views,” she said. “These hills are dramatic.”

Friday culminated in a Quick Draw evening challenge during the Floyd Country Store’s Friday Night Jamboree. Artists had just three hours to create a painting from start to finish. They interacted with the public as people stopped to admire their work and asked questions. Local non-competing artists were invited to join the challenge and add their completed paintings with others exhibited later in the FCA Falcon Gallery.

Christine Raymond from Manassas painted a man on a bench in front of Angels in the Attic after they had struck up a friendly banter. She joked it would be titled “The Town Trouble.” Raymond had just come from the Suffolk Plein Air Festival, stating that she usually does seven to eight plein air events a year but recently had a solo show titled “For the Love of Virginia,” in which she showed 80 paintings from all over the state.

Also set up near Raymond was Deb Sheffer from Staunton, who was painting The Floyd County Store. “I need some glow around the lights,” she said as she adjusted to the low light of dusk. She said throughout the week, she had been to Little River and north on 221 to Poor Farm Road and Cannady Gap Road. She had been to the Blue Ridge Parkway overlooks twice.

The fifth Floyd Plein Air Biennial was capped off Saturday with a Public Gala Celebration and Art Sale of the week’s paintings in the Hayloft Gallery. The free event included food, beverages, a cash bar benefiting the Center, and a Festival Awards finale presented by Wood, Blanchard, and the Center’s Program Manager Erin Rodgers in the Center’s Community Room. The Gala and Art Sale was the largest sales event, raising $30,848 in one day. 

The audience applauded and cheered enthusiastically as artists made their way to the stage to be congratulated and collect their prize winnings. The first place award went to Elbert Shubert from Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, for his painting “C.M. Turner’s Place,” which came with a $1,500 cash prize. Second place ($1,000) went to Alex Eisenzopf from Western North Carolina for “Banished,” and the third place ($500) award went to Olga Bankston from Tennessee for “Century Old Guard.”

Other cash prizes were awarded for the Quick Draw challenge, Spirit of Floyd, and a Maureen Garthright Memorial Award in memory of Wood’s mother. Gift certificates and merchandise prizes were awarded for honorable mentions, Best of Farm, Best of Mountains, Best of Town, Best of EcoVillage, and for medium categories, which included oil, acrylic, and water mediums.

Following the awards, many attendees lingered over the one-night painting exhibition. They admired and purchased art and enjoyed lively and enriching exchanges with the artists.