UPDATE:Plein-air artists compete in Back Bay contest

The Southern California Plein Air Painters Assn. will conduct its fourth annual "Paint the Back Bay" exhibit and sale of original art from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sat. and Sun., Oct. 14 and 15, at the Muth Interpretive Center. The center is at 2301 University Drive in Newport Beach. The event is free and open to the public.

Local artists will be painting the Upper Newport Bay at various locations through Oct. 13 during this competition. About 60 eligible entries will be juried for awards. All of the artwork will be exhibited and sold on Oct. 14 and 15.

This year's judge is Vito-Leonardo Scarola, an accomplished artist and a full-time professor of drawing and painting at Saddleback College. He has been teaching visual arts for more than 30 years. Scarola is a native of Italy and has lived and studied in France. He holds a master's degree in painting from Cal State Long Beach, a bachelor's degree in painting from the State University of New York, Brockport, and an associate's degree from St. Gregory's College. While in France, he earned two French degrees in language, art history and civilization from La Sorbonne and L'Universite de Caen, respectively.

Artist Maggie Jamison, founder and past president of the painter's association, had the idea for the first competition.

"This free, two-day event is a great way for art lovers of all ages to visit the Muth center's ongoing educational exhibits about the Upper Newport Bay Nature Reserve and appreciate new, original paintings of the Back Bay's natural beauty," Jamison said. "It's especially fun for children to learn about nature and art at the same time. In that regard … [plein-air association] artists will select the best of the plein-air art works from the children's classes they taught in September to be displayed in the Muth Interpretive Center Children's Room as part of this October 14 to 16 exhibit."

The plein-air art movement began in France in the late 1800s. "Plein air" is French for "open air." Artists paint outdoor scenes in natural light, painting from a direct perception of nature. The quality of light throughout the Back Bay is unique, making it a particularly attractive to plein-air artists. The early 1900s brought many such artists to Southern California. Among them, American post-impressionists Franz Bischoff, Alson Clark, Edgar Payne, Guy Rose, Donna Shuster and William Wendt were captivated by the Back Bay's special lighting.