Paint Out Norwich artists set to celebrate our fine city in paint

Armed with their paintbrushes and easels, more than 30 artists are set to take to the streets of Norwich and capture scenes of the city on canvas as the annual Paint Out Norwich competition gets under way.

Part of the Hostry Festival, the open-air art event is back for a fourth year and it will culminate with a special exhibition of more than 150 works of art inspired by our fine city.

Last year's competition was won by Chris Daynes for his beautiful oil painting of a River Wensum scene called Yellow Canoe, and this year artists will be challenged to create art in four different areas of the city - along the river, in the Cathedral Quarter, around the Westlegate area and by Norwich Market. They will also be given the chance to compete in a nocturne competition, painting the cityscape as night falls from aboard the top of a bus on St Peter's Street and also in Norwich Lanes.

James Colman, who founded Paint Out Norwich, said he was looking forward to seeing the fresh and diverse mix of art created in this year's competition and he said it was also a great opportunity for the public to watch artists at work.

'Paint Out thrives on immersing people in the whole process of dynamic art creation, from blank canvas to finished production, in a matter of mere hours and days,' he said.

'All this provides plenty of engaging opportunity for members of the public to see first-hand how these talented artists work against the clock and in a constantly changing environment.'

Ahead of the main competition taking place, the public are also invited to get creative and pick up a paintbrush for workshops this Saturday at Studio 20 and a public Paint Out afternoon at Ketts Heights and Mousehold Heath on Sunday from 1pm until 4pm.

The Paint Out artists will then compete in the nocturne competition on Sunday and Monday night, and the core two-day painting competition will take place throughout the day on Monday and Tuesday.

Following a gala private view of the artists' work on Wednesday night at Norwich Cathedral, the Paint Out Norwich 2017 exhibition will then run from October 19 to 28.

For more on all Paint Out Norwich events and how you can get involved, visit www.paintout.org