Plein Air:
Best of Show
and the cam collection
Cedarburg’s
FIRST
Plein Air Festival
CEDARBURG’S FIRST PLEIN AIR FESTIVAL. Cedarburg has a history as an artists’ haven or destination for artists to paint outdoors or en plein air, for at least 130 years. Therefore, it is natural that the Midwest’s first plein air painting festival should start in Cedarburg. Artists Dave Eitel and Sandra Pape were the instigators and along with volunteers from the Cedarburg Artists Guild formed Cedarburg’s first outdoor painting festival in 2001. The Cedarburg Artists Guild continued its support of the Cedarburg Plein Air Event over the years while the event continues to attract 150 artists to the community each June. Sandy Pape, who spearheaded Cedarburg’s earliest festival, obtained sponsorship for a Best of Show Purchase Award from Ozaukee Bank in its first year. Ozaukee Bank or its later Gift to the Future Fund continues to provide the Purchase Award for the Best of Show award to the current day.
PLEIN AIR PAINTINGS AS GIFTS TO CEDARBURG ART MUSEUM. In late 2012, when an opportunity arose with the historic Wittenberg-Jochem home for sale on Cedarburg’s main street, the Ozaukee Bank’s Gift to the Future Fund purchased the building as the potential home for the soon-to-be-formed Cedarburg Art Museum as a gift to the community. In 2013, when the historic building reopened as the Cedarburg Art Museum, many of the plein air Best of Show award-winning paintings from earlier years in the Ozaukee Bank Artwork Collection were part of the initial, 49-piece Bank gift to the new museum. Today, the Cedarburg Art Museum Collection numbers several hundred more artworks, and its complete collection of award-winning plein air paintings from Cedarburg’s annual festival is a shining jewel within it. In 2021, Cedarburg marks the 20th anniversary of its first plein air festival, the longest-running and largest outdoor painting event in the Midwest.
Todd Schabel, “In Flux and Flox”, oil on canvas, 2023, 18″ x 24″ Ozaukee Bank Gift to the Future Fund
Hector Acuna, “Clouds Passing over Afternoon Work”, oil on canvas birch panel, 2022, 28″ x 28″ Ozaukee Bank Gift to the Future Fund 2022.05
James Hempel, “Window Shopping,” 2002, oil, 23-1/2 x 19-1/2 inches
Collection Cedarburg Art Museum, The Artwork of Ozaukee Bank, 2012.18
James Hempel, “Nightowls,” 2004, oil on canvas, 19-1/2 x 27 x 1 inches
Collection Cedarburg Art Museum, The Artwork of Ozaukee Bank, 2012.19
Tom Nachreiner, “Evening Ice Cream,” 2011, oil on canvas board, 18 x 28 inches
Collection Cedarburg Art Museum, Ozaukee Bank Gift to the Future Fund, 2014.56
Bonnie Paruch, “Tuesday by Maxwell’s,”2003, pastel, 29 x 25 x 3 inches
Collection Cedarburg Art Museum, Gift of Greg Zimmerschied and Mary Kay Bourbulas, 2014.17
Jason Sacran, “After Dark,” 2012, oil on canvas, 12 x 24-1/2 x 2 inches
Collection Cedarburg Art Museum, Ozaukee Bank Gift to the Future Fund, 2014.59
Tom Nachreiner, “Old & Warm,” 2013, oil on canvas, 16 x 20 inches
Collection Cedarburg Art Museum, Ozaukee Bank Gift to the Future Fund, 2013.15
Marc Anderson, “The Meeting Place,” 2018, oil on board, 15-5/8 x 16-5/8 x 7/8 inches
Collection Cedarburg Art Museum, Ozaukee Bank Gift to the Future Fund, 2018.07
Frankie Johnson, “Behind the Blue Glass Clutter,” 2015, oil on canvas, 16-3/8 X 19-3/5 inches
Collection Cedarburg Art Museum, Ozaukee Bank Gift to the Future Fund, 2015.01
Bonnie Paruch, “Receiving,” 2010, oil, 16-3/4 x 20-3/4 inches
Collection Cedarburg Art Museum, Ozaukee Bank Gift to the Future Fund, 2014.57
Antwan Ramar, “PhotoSymphony,” 2019, oil on canvas, 12 x 24 inches
Collection Cedarburg Art Museum, Ozaukee Bank Gift to the Future Fund, 2019.09
Paula Swaydan Grebel, untitled, 2005, oil on canvas, 12-3/8 x 20-1/4 x 1-3/4 inches
Collection Cedarburg Art Museum, Gift of Greg Zimmershied and Mary-Kay Bourbulas, 2014.16
Tom Nachreiner, “Sunday Stroll,” 2006, oil canvas, 19-1/2 x 23-1/2 x 1 inches
Collection Cedarburg Art Museum, The Artwork of Ozaukee Bank, 2012.47
D K Palecek, “Fiddleheads,” 2016, oil on canvas, 18-3/4 x 15-3/4 inches
Collection Cedarburg Art Museum, Ozaukee Bank Gift to the Future Fund, 2016.03
Andy Fletcher, “Sunrise at the Farm,” 2021, Oil on canvas, 21 x 27 inches
Collection Cedarburg Art Museum, Ozaukee Bank Gift to the Future Fund, 2021.05
Steve Puttrich, “A River Runs Through Cedarburg,” 2017, watercolor, 28-1/4 x 21-1/8 x 7/8 inches
Collection Cedarburg Art Museum, Cedarburg Art Museum Collection Fund, 2017.05
Shelby Keefe, “Flags Over Cedarburg,” 2001, oil on canvas, 20 x 17 inches
Collection Cedarburg Art Museum, The Artwork of Ozaukee Bank, 2012.21
Mike Neilson, “Hanging Flowers,” 2007, oil on canvas, 22 x 18 x 1 inches
Collection Cedarburg Art Museum, Gift of Greg Zimmerschied and Mary-Kay Bourbulas, 2014.18
Karen Phipps, “Blatz,” 2009, oil, 13-5/8 x 15-1/2 inches
Collection Cedarburg Art Museum, Ozaukee Bank Gift to the Future Fund, 2014.58
Kathie Wheeler, “Gentle Morning,” 2014, oil on canvas, 19-1/2 x 25-1/2 x 1-3/4 inches
Collection Cedarburg Art Museum, Ozaukee Bank Gift to the Future Fund, 2014.14
Gail Macejkovic, “Shed Grace,” 2008, oil on canvas, 17 x 19-1/2 x 2 inches
Collection Cedarburg Art Museum, Ozaukee Bank Gift to the Future Fund, 2014.55
