Paint Maui 2023 Plein Air Invitational organizers Michael Clements and Lynn Shue stand by one of Clements’ paintings called “Sundown in Keokea” on display at Village Galleries Lahaina. PHOTO BY MADISON YU-CUA.

LAHAINA — After a two-year hiatus, the Plein Air Invitational is returning to West Maui this month.

The Paint Maui 2023 Plein Air Invitational (in prior form as the Maui Plein Air Painting Invitational) is set for Feb. 11-19 in and around Lahaina Town, with events that are free and open to the public.

This year’s event will showcase 20 invited artists from Hawaii and the U.S. Mainland. These accomplished professional artists will interpret Maui’s island environment with their own unique paintings and share their expertise and skill with interested patrons and visitors.

Plein air invitationals were held in West Maui for 15 years before the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 and ’22.

Maui artist Michael Clements and Lynn Shue, owner/director of Village Galleries, are guiding the invitational’s return.

“What we’ve done is decided to take it back to kind of its origins of what it was: basically to invite artists from the Mainland… so we can paint together and learn from each other and share our experiences, our art experiences and cultural experiences here, and see how they interpret Hawaii from their perspective,” said Clements.

With the scaled back schedule, the artists will have more time and freedom to explore Maui, paint and interact with Maui residents and visitors.

“En plein air” painting, a French term, means “painting outdoors,” capturing the scene and changing light. Clements said an optimal window to do a plein air painting is about 90 minutes to two hours.

“After that, it’s dramatically different. The shadows are different, the lightings are different, and everything. But on top of it are the elements of sun, wind, rain — any number of small, minor things,” he added.

Artists may have their paintings or easels knocked over in the wind, putting their wet paintings face down in the sand.

“You never know; it’s kind of an adventure when you’re out painting,” Shue said.

Events begin with the Kick-Off Paint Out at Lahaina Harbor on Saturday, Feb. 11, from 8 to 11 a.m. The fresh paintings will be available at Village Galleries Lahaina at 120 Dickenson St. after 1 p.m.

The Sunset Paint Out will be held on the Lahaina Public Library lawn and Pioneer Inn area on Monday, Feb. 13, from 4 to 6:30 p.m.

Next up is the Quick Draw in Lahaina Town on Saturday, Feb. 18, from 9 to 11 a.m. Paintings will be available at the gallery after 1 p.m.

“The three events that we have for public painting, you can see all 20 artists in a small area around the harbor, or out on the Lahaina Library lawn or along Front Street. So you can see 20 different artists and how they approach starting and finishing a painting, and what attracts them and why they are painting that,” Clements explained.

“In the past, we’ve had people just go from one artist to the other, and back and forth, and watch how the painting is developing. It’s a fun experience, I think.”

Also on Feb. 13, Jean Stern, director emeritus of The Irvine Museum, will present “THE ART OF LOOKING AT ART: Developing a Critical Eye for Plein Air Painting,” a lecture and slide show, in the Pioneer Inn Courtyard at 7 p.m.

The week culminates on Friday, Feb. 17, with a selection of awards by Juror Stern and the event sponsors, and the Grand Sale at Village Galleries Lahaina, where residents and visitors can meet the artists and purchase new original pieces created during the week.

This year’s participating artists from Hawaii include Mark N. Brown, Carleton, Mike Carroll, Clements, Betty Hay Freeland, Ronaldo Macedo, Macario Pascual and Damian Smith.

They will be joined by Greg Barnes (NC); Richard Boyer (UT); William Houston (ID); Casey McLain (MN); Aaron Schuerr (MT); Bill Suys (WI); and California artists Bill Cone, Debra Huse, Tiffanie Mang, Terry Miura, David Savellano and Randall Sexton.

The Mainland artists have all participated in plein air events and are distinguished for their talent.

Shue said visitors and artists from past invitationals both inquired about the return of the event after the two-year break.

“They are mesmerized by the views and the light — it’s so different here from the Mainland,” Shue explained, talking about visiting artists who may have to drive a couple hours to find interesting landscapes.

Art enthusiasts enjoy interacting with the artists and seeing scenes they recognize captured in paintings.

“I think they like the inspiration and the insightfulness that an artist gets from looking at a subject they’ve already looked at, and they go, ‘Wow, look at that. He’s caught that light.’ Or, ‘I’ve been there — I love that area,’ that the artist has the imagination and creativity to put that on canvas. People who don’t paint are amazed,” Shue said.

Clements is excited about having a group of respected plein air painters return to Maui and seeing the people who really enjoy the invitational.

“One of the pleasures of plein air painting — and I do a lot of it — is the interaction with people. And most of these artists enjoy sharing with the viewer or with whoever is watching them… you can talk and paint at the same time, and I find it a welcome distraction sometimes,” he said

“Every painting has a bit of struggle in it, and at times I found I was struggling with part of a painting, and somebody comes up and starts talking to me — took my mind off of it — and I look back and go, ‘Oh, now I see what I need to do.’ And I’ve met just the nicest people out there painting.”

For more information, visit www.paintingmaui.com or call Village Galleries at (808) 661-4402.