Morgan Hill Plein Air Paint Out Returns

Morgan Hill’s plein air weekend is back, and the point isn’t just that artists are painting outside. The bigger thing is that the city and Cura Contemporary have turned it into a small but pretty smart cultural engine — one that starts with live painting in the field and ends with a gallery show downtown. This year’s 5th annual Morgan Hill Plein Air Paint Out ran from May 1 to May 3, with the public-facing finale landing Sunday, May 3, at Cura Contemporary on Monterey Road. Artists spent the weekend painting local scenes on site, then brought the finished work into town for a reception, awards, and a “wet paint sale.” ### What is a plein air paint-out? It’s outdoor painting done on location — not from a studio photo later. “Plein air” is the French term for painting in the open air, and the whole appeal is that artists are reacting to real light, weather, and atmosphere in real time. That gives the work a directness you usually feel right away, especially in landscape painting. ### What happened in Morgan Hill this weekend? This year’s event brought together 15 award-winning artists from across California for three days of painting within a 20-mile radius of Morgan Hill. Organizers framed it as an invitational, not an open free-for-all, so the draw is partly the concentration. ### Where did people actually see it? There were two main public touchpoints. On Saturday, May 2, a live painting event at Cottage Creek Vineyards let visitors watch about a dozen professional artists work in person, with live music alongside the demos. Then on Sunday, May 3, Cura Contemporary hosted the reception and awards ceremony at 17395 Monterey Road in downtown Morgan Hill. ### Why does the gallery matter so much? Because this is not just a weekend happening. The finished paintings are going into a gallery exhibition at Cura Contemporary running from May 3 through June 28, 2026. That changes the event from a one-off festival moment into something with a longer tail — more chances for locals to return, more chances for visitors to make a downtown stop, and more time for the artwork to actually sell. ### What’s the “wet paint sale”? Basically, it’s the fastest possible route from easel to buyer. “Wet paint sale” means the work is shown and offered for purchase immediately after the paint-out, often while the paintings are still freshly finished. That gives the reception some energy — people aren’t just viewing a polished exhibition, they’re seeing the results of the exact weekend they just watched unfold. ### Who’s judging this year? Cura Contemporary’s exhibition page says artist Paul Kratter is serving as the judge for the 2026 invitational. That detail matters because plein air events usually lean on recognizable judges to give the awards more credibility and to attract stronger participating artists. It’s a small event, but it’s trying to behave like a serious regional one. ### Why is Morgan Hill leaning into this? Because it fits the city’s broader event strategy. Visit Morgan Hill lists the Plein Air Paint Out among its signature annual events, alongside other downtown and seasonal draws. So the paint-out is doing two jobs at once — supporting artists and giving Morgan Hill another reason to pull people into local businesses, tasting rooms, and galleries. ### Bottom line This is a local arts event, but it’s built with more ambition than that label suggests. Morgan Hill isn’t just hosting painters for a weekend — it’s packaging live art, a public reception, awards, and a nearly two-month exhibition into one downtown-friendly cultural product.