Arts · Sedona

Sedona Plein Air Festival

Each autumn, the Sedona Plein Air Festival scatters painters across the red rocks to work outdoors, capturing the landscape in real time — light, shadow, and color as they actually fall. It's one of the longest-running plein air events in the West, and watching artists paint on location is half the appeal.

Organized by the Sedona Arts Center, the festival unfolds over a week or so of painting at scenic spots around town, alongside demonstrations, community paint-outs, and a sale of the finished works. For visitors it's a rare chance to see the creative process happen in the open air, and to meet the artists as they work with Sedona's formations as their subject.

Fall is a beautiful time to be here regardless — comfortable temperatures and softer light — which is exactly why the painters come. If you want to catch specific paint-outs or the exhibition, check the festival's schedule once dates are announced and plan your days around it. Staying in a Sedona rental lets you slot a few festival stops between your own hikes and drives.