It is quite the picture: artists on every corner in North Bennington, painting pictures.
"I love to be outdoors," said Pratima Rao, an artist from New Jersey.
"Beautiful light in the morning and afternoon," said Tony Connor from Bennington.
"It's everything, the sound of the water, everything it all contributes to the painting," said Stephanie Amato, an artist from New Jersey.
Painting en Plein Air is French for "in the open air"
"Painting Plein Air means painting outside basically," said Connor.
When you see images the artists produce it is no wonder they want to paint alongside nature. But amidst the tranquility is actually a little competition.
"You can produce as many or few as you like, most artists are very prolific," said Connor. "You have to paint outside and you have to have done it something that was blank those are the only rules,"
Conner is one of the organizers for the North Bennington Vermont Competition. The streets and landscape of North Bennington are his studio.
"I like that people get to come here and see what I get to see and paint what I get to paint all the time," he said.
That is part of the draw for the artists, a beautiful place that's a new inspiration.
"The old businesses with equipment out front," said John Caggiano, an artist from Massachusetts. "People see this and they see a hundred years ago."
"I paint in New Jersey, we don't have beautiful mountains we don't even have rolling hill," said Rao.
The painters are from Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania. The competitions can be found all over the country and can help artists with sales, exposure, maybe even to win some money if the judge chooses them.
"What touches me, what gets my attention when I walk in that room and walk up and down," said David Macaulay, the juror of awards.
But sometimes the most memorable moments come when the competing is through.
"It's become a camaraderie and networking," said Caggiano.
"Met a lot of good people," said Amato.
Organizers say this event brings the arts to the public. When you see something like the artists themselves, they become quite the image.
"It helps the public, they appreciate seeing the things they know in paint. I think they also get a new perspective on what's in front of them," said Connor.
"People love the fascination of seeing a canvas turn into a painting," said Caggiano.
