The streets of Dubuque became more creatively engaging when 51 jury selected artists from across the country converged on the city for the Bluff Strokes 2025 Paint Out Sept. 28 through Oct. 4.
With artists setting up easels around town, competing for awards and engaging the local community through the act of live art making, this plein air (French for “open air”) event featured artists rendering the natural landscapes and historic architecture of Dubuque and the surrounding areas. It even garnered national attention, hosting artists from around the country.
“This year just 10 of the 51 artists are from Iowa,” explained Bluff Strokes Board President Jillayne Pinchuk, proving the significant reach of the event.
Dubuque itself has made the Bluff Strokes Paint Out an attractive stop on the plein air circuit for one week each autumn. Its historic buildings and industrial structures, driftless topography and majestic Mississippi River views provide an ideal location for outdoor inspiration.
Launching with a desire to promote the city and its singular characteristics to a broader artistic community, Bluff Strokes just returned for its eighth iteration. The competition allowed artists to create up to 10 new works during the week with a guest judge selecting winners in multiple categories. At the completion of the week, the renderings were displayed for sale in the historic Steeple Square Community Event Center, where the public could view and purchase original pieces, often depicting scenes from locations familiar to those from the area.
This year’s guest judge, Hector Acuna, was a two-time Paint Out participant, holding a BFA from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point and an MFA from Michigan State. Working primarily in oils, and exhibiting a unique surrealist style featuring imaginative compositions, Hector has been named the M. Stephen Doherty Breakthrough Artist of the Year, being featured in the 2023 Oct/Nov issue of Plein Air Magazine.
The plein air tradition went largely out of style with the rise of abstract art in the early twentieth century until a group of artists began painting landscapes on Santa Catalina Island, California in the mid-1980s, subsequently reviving the movement. There are now tens of thousands of artists painting in the tradition around the world. Blending artistic skill, environmental mindfulness, travel tourism and community, the local event has birthed painting and sketching groups, workshops, and most recently the formation of the Bluff Strokes Art Center, which officially opened earlier this year at 1201 Locust St.
“We had hypothetically dreamed of having an art center,” said Pinchuk. “Rachel Dacck, our executive director, and I connected, then she and artist Jesse Rebik, now our program director, proposed having a space where people could access non-credit based art. Last year we were just getting our footing, but this year we are proud to offer full programming.” Located in a former church, the center is a creative hub hosting a variety of offerings for the community regardless of experience. “Our goal is to have quality programming for all age groups and income levels.” In keeping with their ethos of accessibility, they offer scholarship opportunities for all their regular classes and special programming.
If there was one message that Bluff Strokes members wanted to convey this year, it was that “Bluff Strokes is no longer a one-week occurrence,” said Daack. “The Paint Out is our signature event highlighting so much of what is important about art making, the joy of community building, and celebration. But the center also aims to create a space for art and community, making this a year-round endeavor now.”
With the Paint Out event selling hundreds of works each year, it now serves as a fundraiser for the art center. “The Paint Out fulfills part of our mission of providing professional opportunities for artists, while also fundraising, and encouraging access to art for buyers,” explained Daack.
This year’s event offered three opportunities to view and buy original work. On Thursday, Oct. 2, there was a Sale of Prior Works, where artists were able to share pieces created outside of the event.
Friday was the main ticketed Paint Out Party & Art Sale. There, guests were able to enjoy conversations with the artists and fellow art patrons while purchasing prime pieces created throughout the week. Guests mingled along the partition walls adorned with colorful framed oil, watercolor and pastel offerings, while enjoying food by Q Casino, beer by Jubeck’s New World Brewing, and the acoustic music of Marcus de Jesus.
The following day, Saturday, the public had their final chance to buy original work at the Saturday Art Sale, which was free to the public. New art was hung throughout the day, with food vendors and live music rounding out the week’s festivities.
One of the most important aspects for Bluff Strokes’ annual Paint Out has always been a desire to enrich the Dubuque community through appreciation and participation in art and art patronage.
“Ideally, visitors will come and take a piece of the area’s history home with them,” Pinchuk said. “We love having these largely outside artists in our community, getting their perspective on spaces we’ve often come to overlook.”
