Missouri Prairie Foundation invites you to bring your brush to the lush with Paint it Prairie event

Artist Melissa Chaney’s landscape painting of pale purple coneflowers amid tall, native grasses at Snowball Hill Prairie. // Courtesy MPF

Artists and nature enthusiasts of all ages are invited to enjoy the blooming wildflowers of Harrisonville’s native prairie May 20 at the Missouri Prairie Foundation’s fourth annual Paint it Priaire plein air painting event.

Plein air, which is French for “out of doors,” refers to the practice of painting entire finished paintings outside. Pioneered by impressionists in the mid-19th century, visitors to the Paint it Prairie event will get to channel their inner Monet at Missouri Prairie Foundation’s Snowball Prairie, located 35 minutes southwest of downtown Kansas City in Harrisonville.

Nature enthusiasts are encouraged to attend and learn about the native prairie through interpretive hikes planned for 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Tables will also feature information on the Harrisonville Fine Art Association and Missouri Prairie Foundation and its Grow Native program.

The event is free to all who enjoy art and community on the 20-acre original native prairie. And truly, we could all benefit from a wholesome painting session among like-minded nature enthusiasts and an abundance of grass?

The event starts at 7 a.m. and will go until 5 p.m. Artists should come prepared with their own medium supplies, drinking water in a non-disposable container, and a camera if desired. In the event of inclement weather, Paint it Priaire will be moved to June 10.