CULVER — This year’s Culver Paint Out will take place August 14, 15, 16, 2026, with the public art sale on Sunday, August 16, 2026.
There are two programs available for patrons:
•The host an Artist in your home initiative. The event offers out-of-town artists accommodations if and as they are available. You will be paired with artists in need of a place to stay for either two or three nights; no responsibility to entertain or feed them, they will be very busy in the three-day schedule.
•Consider being a patron to a PURCHASE PRIZE. There are a limited number this year. Purchase a painting in advance at $600, and any number of artists will likely show up with their depictions of your subject, in-town home, lake property, or business. Typically, in the past, eight to a dozen paintings to choose from of your subject. On Sunday, you will pick the one you want from a number of paintings. The artist chosen receives a Purchase Prize Cash Award.
Forty artists from across the country and region descend on Culver for this exciting event, competing for over $10,000. There is a Quick Paint event on Saturday morning, air gun start, where you can watch the creations in real-time and then two hours later see the finished paintings.
On Sunday, more than 200 paintings from all media (oil, watercolor, acrylic) will be on exhibit and available for viewing and purchase. Two guest judges will adjudicate. Most events are hosted at the Beach Lodge.
Partners in the three-day event include the Visitors Center, Union Township Public Library, Culver Redevelopment Commission, Heartland Art Center, Marshall County Visitors, Coca-Cola Bottlers of Kokomo, First Farmers Bank & Trust, and Moon Tree Studios at Ancilla College. Plein Air Magazine continues to be our plein air sponsor.
Questions, please contact Jeffrey Baumgartner, director, at CulverPaintOut@gmail.com.
