Thank You for an Incredible 5th Floyd Plein Air Biennial!
The 5th Floyd Plein Air Biennial brought artists, collectors, patrons, volunteers, hosts, and visitors together for six incredible days celebrating art and the beauty of Floyd County.
From September 14–19, 30 juried artists from 10 states painted throughout Floyd, capturing our mountains, farms, historic buildings, downtown streets, and familiar views through their own eyes.
The week culminated in our Gala Celebration & Art Sale, which welcomed approximately 200 guests, a record for the event. Even more exciting, artwork sales reached a record-breaking $35,303, with 67 original works sold!
Each artwork purchase supports both the artist who created it and the Floyd Center for the Arts, helping us continue our mission of connecting people through visual arts, handmade craft, and music.
To everyone who purchased a painting, attended an event, welcomed an artist into your home or onto your property, volunteered, sponsored the Biennial, or simply stopped to watch an artist paint: thank you.
Celebrating the 2026 Award Winners
Congratulations to all of the artists recognized during this year’s Biennial!
First Place — Elbert Shubert, C.M. Turner’s Place
Second Place — Alex Eisenzopf, Banished
Third Place — Olga Bankston, Century Old Guard
Quick Draw – Competition — Kesra Hoffman, Bookhouse Glow, Floyd
Quick Draw – Non-Competition — Susan Huskey, Floyd Community Market
Spirit of Floyd Award — Natalia Andreeva, Home by the Red Barn
Maureen Garthright Memorial Award — Catherine Hillis, Kissed by the Sun
Excellence in Any Medium — Sierra Fenton, Hiker’s Respite
Excellence in Acrylics — David Dorrell, River Property View
Excellence in Water Media — Rajendra KC, Morning Lights (The River Property)
Excellence in Oils — Rokhaya Waring, Amber & Gold
Best of the Farm — Jenny Abrams, Harvest
Best of the Mountains — Sam Guidon, Hit it with the Kicker
Best of the Town — Vicky Zhou, The Band
Best of the EcoVillage — Coakley Brown, Coneflower Continuity
Honorable Mention #1 — Stephen Hessler, All the Children Moved Away
Honorable Mention #2 — Matt Gentry, Rock Monster Judge Sheet Completed
A Special Thank You
We are incredibly grateful to Festival Judge Deliece Blanchard for bringing her experience and thoughtful eye to this year’s Biennial and for selecting our 2026 award recipients.
A very special thank you goes to Event Chair Joli Ayn Wood. Joli’s leadership, passion for plein air painting, and countless hours of work are at the heart of this event. Her dedication to creating a meaningful experience for our artists and community helped make this year’s Biennial one to remember.
We also extend our deepest thanks to the artist hosts and land hosts who welcomed artists into their homes and opened beautiful places throughout Floyd for them to paint. Your hospitality is one of the things that makes the Floyd Plein Air Biennial so special.
And to our volunteers, patrons, collectors, sponsors, community partners, staff, and everyone who joined us throughout the week: we could not do this without you.
Thank You to Our Sponsors
The 5th Floyd Plein Air Biennial was proudly supported by Platinum Sponsor Clark Gas & Oil Co., with generous support from Floyd EcoVillage, Omnibuild Construction, Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech, Montgomery Museum of Art & History, Finn Graphics Inc., Blue Ridge Florist and Gifts, Floyd Xpress Market, Virginia Tourism Corporation, Dixon Ticonderoga, Williamsburg Artist Oil Colors, Golden Artist Colors, Art Supplies Wholesale, Guerrilla Painter, Judson’s Art Outfitters, Ampersand, Virginia Commission for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Your investment supports not only this event, but the artists, arts education, and creative community that surround it.
Until Next Time!
The paintings created during Plein Air Week tell the story of Floyd at a particular moment in time: its changing light, rolling mountains, working farms, gathering places, and people.
We are so proud that 67 of those paintings found homes and that this year’s Biennial brought together so many people through art.
To our artists who traveled from near and far, thank you for sharing your talent and for showing us Floyd through your eyes.
To our community, thank you for showing up for the artists and for the Floyd Center for the Arts. We can’t wait to do it again!
