Old Town Temecula Street Painting & Plein Air Art Festival

Fine artists of all ages will be colorizing  Old Town Temecula during the Street Painting and Arts Festival,  June 20-22. Artists will start their works of art on Monday June 16 and continue throughout the week, while street painters and muralists will begin Friday even, June 20th.

Plein air is a French expression, meaning "in the  open air" or painting outdoors.  Plein air artists begin painting Old Town Temecula scenes on canvas and paper,  Monday, June 16,   while string artists  decorate  benches, trees, the gazebo,  and other objects at Sam Hicks Memorial Park.  Titled Yarn Splash,  the string  projects  will be completed Saturday,  June 21. The yarn art remains  in place  through August 24.

Plein air artists paint with oils, water color, pastels and acrylics, through Sunday, June 22. . Temecula's plein air festival is inspired by Ralph Love, a popular California plein air artist who lived and taught in Temecula. His Art Shack was located where Baily's Old Town Dining is now located.

Artwork completed during the Ralph Love Plein Air Festival will  be on display in the Temecula Civic Center, 41000 Main Street,  Saturday and Sunday.  

Muralists, pastel artists, and painters cover the black top of Main and Mercedes Streets at Town Square Park, with vibrant pastel paintings.  With asphalt as their canvas,  street painters have been painting Old Town Temecula's streets for 14 years.  Artists come from as far away as Arizona and Washington to participate in Old Town's Street Painting Festival. Over 140 artists painted 92 murals in 2013.

A unique aspect to Temecula's Street Painting Festival is the family and youth area provided. Here young artists and their parents can paint small two-foot-by-two-foot blocks using the very same pastels that the master painters use for their 10-foot by 12 foot murals. More than  1,800 squares will be made for participants. THIS IS FREE as is admission to all of the art activities.

"It will take most artists 24 hours to finish the largest murals," explained the event coordinator Melody Brunsting. "It's fun to watch their creations develop from a light sketch to a vivid painting. Yet, for the artist, it is a grueling endeavor on hands and knees," she added.

 Street Painting  applications are available at the City of Temecula as well as online at temeculacalifornia.com.  Street Painting begins at 5 p.m. Friday, June 20. Saturday and Sunday hours are 10 a.m.to 5 p.m. Most artists, however,  begin painting at 7 a.m. both days, with some painting into the night Saturday. All murals must be complete by 3 p.m. Sunday for judging.

All three artistic endeavors are part of the Temecula Art Festival. Artists will also display and sell fine art paintings, ceramics and jewelry during the Art Festival June 20-22 at the Temecula Civic Center.

Street Painting & Plein Air Festival June 25-28 Starts Hot Summer Nights

Painters and muralists will fill the streets of Old Town at the 10th Annual Old Town Temecula Street Painting Festival and 3rd Annual Ralph Love Plein Air Festival Friday June 25 through Sunday, June 27.


Over 100 muralists and visual artists create giant pastel murals on Main Street in Old Town Temecula during the event. Families, children, and beginners join in the creative endeavor in the family section where more than 500 smaller squares are blocked out for spectators to paint with pastels on the asphalt canvas.

This year organizers are bringing in lights for night painting on Friday and Saturday

“We’ve started a second division - Black and White at Night -for artists who prefer cooler temperatures, but also to offer a new challenge,” explained Melody Brunsting, event producer.

The Black and White at Night division is for monochromatic and black and white murals. Lights will be provided the artists for night time painting until 9 p.m.

Traditional street painting is done with a full color palette of pastels. This will continue on Saturday and Sunday beginning at 7 a.m. with artists painting 12 to 20 hours to complete their giant murals. The 2010 featured artist is local muralist Jesus Gutierrez. He won the 2009 event for his entry “Aztec Princess.” Gutierrez will teach a workshop Saturday, June 12 in Old Town Temecula at 9 a.m. The workshop is free as is the event.

The Ralph Love Plein Air Festival started three years ago and offers a $500 purchase award from the City of Temecula. An event within the event, Plein Air artists paint on location on canvas.

Plein Air Artists will scatter throughout Old Town in search of the perfect scene depicting the historic town. The event was named after Ralph Love. For many years, Ralph Love taught as well as painted. His students were made up of avid artists throughout Southern California, and their classroom was the wide-open spaces. On rainy days, the class would meet in the old Art Shack in Temecula, California, which Love opened in the mid-fifties. It was from this Art Shack that his work received national recognition. The courtyard at Old Town Front Street Bar & Grill is now known as the Love Courtyard.

There is no fee for either Festival. Children and families are provided free pastel chalk and a place to try their creative hand at street painting. Classic Rock tunes from the Two of Us will entertain Friday evening. Flamenco guitar by Javid and Maoko provide a Latin and world music backdrop on Saturday. Sunday live Big Band tunes by the Valley Winds will close out the Festivals. A Plein Air Art Auction is held Sunday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Applications for both Plein Air artists and Street Painters are available at http://www.temeculacalifornia.com/ or by calling (951) 678-1456.

Additional prizes provided by Dick Blick Art Materials.

We could use some UMBRELLA SPONSORS ... Rite Aid has Umbrella's for $30.  The current stock is a bit beat up. Anyone purchasing an Umbrella and donating to the Festival or sponsoring an umbrella or e-z up by paying $50 sponsorship, will have their company name painted at one of the artist murals. Call Melody for details.

We are also looking for food sponsors. $5 lunch coupons or $500 cash as the sponsor for one day.

Register for Western Days Chili Cook Off, Street Painting, or win a Campsite

It's Spring Break, and while you are relaxing by the pool, taking the kids to the beach or camping, be sure to place three things on your calendar.

1st - Sign up on the Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival's EARN POINTS discussion page on FACEBOOK  and start earning points to a campsite at the 27th Annual Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival. For six weeks the Festival is conducting a contest where participants can win tickets, souvenirs and other prizes while earning points towards a GRAND PRIZE of  campsite at the Festival. This is a full hook up campsite and includes two weekend passes, reserved seating at one concert of your choice. Friday night we have country, Saturday its Gin Blossoms, Vertical Horizon, and Paul Rodgers.

The Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival is June 4-6 at Lake Skinner with a new AMPHITHEATER.  There is wine tasting, hot air balloon launches in the morning, balloon glows in the evening, and food and wine pairing. A grand new experience awaits with a $7 million renovation of the park. To win prizes over the next three weeks be sure to follow the Festival at twitter.com/TemeculaVBWine.

2nd - Western Days In Old Town Temecula - May 15 and 16. There is an ICS Chili Cook Off on May 16 where you can win cash prizes.Western Days includes gunfight skits from the Old Town Temecula gunfighters and a high noon shoot out.  Be sure to check it out at http://www.temeculacalifornia.com/. Applications are available online.

3rd - Street Painting Festival and Plein Air Festival June 25-27. This will be in Old Town's  New Town Square. Street Painting is expanding with two different divisions - Black and White at Night for artists painting monochromatic or black and white paintings. They can paint at night. Traditionalists ... full color palette can paint as usual on Saturday and Sunday. All paintings have to be done by 3 p.m. Sunday the 27th.
the Ralph Love Plein Air Festival runs at the same time. There is a $500 purchase prize for the best Plein Air Painting. and a $500 Best of Show Prize for the best streetpainting. Details and forms are at http://www.temeculacalifornia.com/