As of August 17, 2026, 29 participants are signed up for the Meyer Art Center first annual Town to Island Plein Aire Art competition. Well, it’s kind of the first. In August 2018, Meyer Art Center Executive Director organized a plein air competition on behalf of the Stanwood-Camano Art Advocacy Commission. You can read about that here:
https://sunnyshorestudio.com/2018/08/31/1st-annual-plein-air-event-a-success/
For Jason it is a dream come true to see this seed come to fruit. The Meyer Art Center expects that Town to Island will become a major plein aire event drawing artists and collectors to Stanwood-Camano each August. It is called Town to Island to celebrate the beautiful scenes that artists can find in the Stanwood-Camano Region.
It’s not to late to register for this event. https://www.scaacwa.org/event-details/meyer-art-festival-town-to-island-plein-air-paint-out
Here are some FAQ’s that you might be interested to know.
Dear Town to Island participant,
On behalf of the Meyer Art Center, I’m thrilled to welcome you to the inaugural Town to Island Plein Aire competition. We are excited to showcase our region: Stanwood, with its historic downtown, riverfront, and rural farmlands and our island, Camano, with its beaches, forests and farms. We anticipate the annual Town to Island event will further cement Stanwood-Camano as a center and destination for art in the Pacific Northwest. Here are answers to some questions you may have.
What is the Town to Island Timeline?
The Town to Island plein aire event takes place, rain or shine, on Saturday, August 29:
- 7:00-9:00am: come to the Town to Island booth (10008 270th St NW, Stanwood, WA, on the brick road in front of the old furniture store) to get up to three papers/canvases date stamped.
- 9:00 (or when you get your paper stamped)-3:00pm: paint your masterpieces
- 3:00-3:30pm: return artwork to Town to Island booth
- 4:00-5:00pm: People vote for “Best of Show” and Judge Dianna Shyne chooses “Best of Town” and “Best of Island”
- 5:00pm: Award Ceremony
What are the Town to Island awards?
We are excited to offer awards to three artists. A special shout out to our event sponsors Randy and Marla Heagle and Randy and Melanie Serroels for making these prizes possible.
- People’s Choice Award: $500 for painting with the most votes from Meyer Art Festival guests. This award will be given to the top vote artwork that is not awarded the Best of Island and Best of Town prizes.
- Best of Town: $500 for a painting of Stanwood. This includes its historic downtown and rural areas. This award will be decided by judge Dianna Shyne.
- Best of Island: $500 for a painting of Camano Island. This award will be decided by judge Dianna Shyne.
Where can I paint?
We are thrilled to welcome you beautiful Stanwood-Camano. You are welcome to paint at any public place (parks, city sidewalks, etc.) in our region. If you want to paint on private land you need to get permission from the owner. Here are some places you may want to consider:
Stanwood
- The brick road in west Stanwood where the Meyer Art Festival is taking place, will be full of booths and people. You are welcome to paint there.
- Set up in east Stanwood, with its quaint and picturesque shops and old buildings.
- Consider also Stanwood Parks like Hamilton Landing, Heritage Park, Church Creek Park, Port Susan Trail, and the Leque Island Levee Trail.
- Or you may want to explore the Stillaguamish river or the farmlands near Stanwood for a more rural feel of our town.
Camano
- The public beaches of Camano are great places to paint. You will glorious vistas at Iverson Beach, Barnum Point, Cavalero Beach, Tillicum Beach, Mabana Beach, Camano Island State Park, Cama Beach, Utsalady Beach, and English Boom. Note: The two State Parks require a Discovery Pass. Day passes are available.
- There are many glorious farmlands on Camano to paint, if you can find a spot off the road or get permission from the owner. Randy and Marla Heagle invite plein aire participants to paint at Arrowhead Ranch.
- If you want to paint a woodland scene, besides glorious trails at the state park, Cama Beach, Iverson Beach, and Barnum Point, you can walk the trails at Four Springs, Cranberry Lake Trail, and Elger Bay Preserve. And remember, a Discovery Pass required at the State Parks.
What is the Meyer Art Festival
The Meyer Art Festival hosted by the Meyer Art Center is a one-day event that takes place in August on the brick road in west Stanwood. We like to call it the “Best lil’ art festival in the west.” Over thirty artist booths will line the brick road, as well as interactive art booths for the whole family. Bands will play on main stage throughout the day. Guests can enjoy the bands in the beer garden, or family area. They can get food at the many local restaurants in west Stanwood or the food trucks. One thing that I’m especially excited about is opening the old furniture store for a taste of the future Meyer Art Center that we hope to break ground on in the fall. We are calling this Experience the Meyer. Guests can shop at the store, take an art class, shop for art and antiques, shop at the free Kid’s Art Store and discover the history of art and artists in Stanwood-Camano. We are thrilled to have Town to Island a featured part of this
Who can I contact for help?
If you have questions you can reach out to me, Jason Dorsey (317.209.6768, director@meyerartcenter.org) or my colleagues, Karen Epperson (karenepperson21@gmail.com), and Melanie Serroels (melanieserroels@gmail.com).
I look forward to meeting you and seeing your creative impression of beautiful Stanwood-Camano. See you on Saturday, August 29.
Sincerely, Jason Dorsey
