Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/23/2014 -- Raw Materials Art Supplies and the Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk have teamed up to present the inaugural Los Angeles Plein Air Festival, and invite artists of all levels to participate by creating an original plein air painting or drawing of locations within Downtown Los Angeles. “Plein air”, a French expression that means “in the open air”, describes painting outdoors in natural light, from direct observation of the subject matter. 

“By teaming up with the Downtown Art Walk to produce the Los Angeles Plein Air Festival, we’re able to offer a fantastic mix of creative opportunities for artists, collectors, and the local community,” said Jim Winstead, co-owner of Raw Materials Art Supplies. “For Angelenos who embrace art and architecture, watching artists paint the urban landscape is a wonderful chance to see our neighborhood and community through fresh eyes.”

The Festival begins on Thursday October 9th, the day of The Downtown Art Walk. This is the first opportunity for the artists to paint on the streets of Historic Downtown Los Angeles, and for Art Walk attendees to observe the artists at work. Opportunities for artists to paint or draw in social settings are scheduled throughout the weekend, concluding with the Festival Exhibition and Awards Competition on Sunday, October 12 at Farmer’s & Merchants Bank (401 S. Main Street, Los Angeles CA 90013), where artwork will be made available for sale, and prizes will be awarded in different categories as well as a Grand Prize and Audience Choice Awards. A portion of the proceeds from the Exhibition will benefit the Downtown Art Walk.

Registration is free. Goodie bags are limited to the first 100 artists to register. Sign up online at http://www.lapleinairfestival.com or in person at Raw Materials Art Supplies (436 S. Main Street, Los Angeles CA 90013).

About RAW MATERIALS
RAW MATERIALS is a fine art supply store also offering architectural supplies, custom fine art framing, and large-format digital printing in the heart of Gallery Row in Historic Downtown Los Angeles. Founded in 2008, Raw Materials was voted “Best Art, Craft and Design Store 2014” by the Los Angeles Downtown News. Raw Materials also houses the WindowBox Gallery, a small exhibition space dedicated to exhibiting works of contemporary art from emerging artists, and recipient of a “Best of LA 2011” Award from the LA Weekly.

For more information on Raw Materials, please visit rawmaterialsLA.com/

About DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES ART WALK
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES ART WALK was founded in 2004 as a free, self-guided walking tour of Downtown galleries, and is now a public art phenomenon that attracts 25,000+ monthly attendees to 50+ galleries and dozens of independent businesses in Historic Downtown Los Angeles on the second Thursday of every month.

For more information, please visit http://www.downtownartwalk.org