Palette en plein air

Artist's pallet during the 2010 Celebration of Art.. . Hosted each year by the Grand Canyon Association, the Grand Canyon Celebration of Art is an annual event that includes 6 days of art related events followed by a month long exhibition in Kolb Studio on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. . . The Celebration of Art features thirty artists from around the country who engage in a plein air competition and exhibition. Visitors have the opportunity to watch the artists paint as they seek to represent the shifting light and shadow, amazing land forms, and vibrant colors of this vast landscape. . . Each artist brings a completed studio piece with them and then creates more artwork on site during the "Plein Air on the Rim" and Quick Draw events that takes place in the historic district of Grand Canyon Village. During the auction that follows the Quick Draw event, Visitors have the opportunity to bid on the work and to bring a piece of Grand Canyon home.

Proceeds from this event will support the goal of funding an art venue at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. This permanent home will ensure that future generations of park visitors will be able to view the stunning art collection in the Grand Canyon National Park Museum and Grand Canyon Association Collections.

• NPS photo by Michael Quinn. .

. . For more information about this year's Celebration of Art visit: www.grandcanyon.org/celebration.asp. . 2012 Dates:

Artists "Plen Air on the Rim" September 8 - 12.

Quick Draw Event and Auction (near El Tovar Hotel) September 14th .