Plein Air Art Contest Returns to St. Charles

Juliette Travous spent Monday morning in Frontier Park doing a pastel rendition of the train depot. She had four hours to complete her drawing and get back in time for judging. 
Travous is one of several artists participating in Riverfront Paint Off 2013, a weeklong plein air art competition held in St. Charles. This is the second year for the contest, which was started by local artist Rebecca McGuire, who owns Dog-Eared Books. 
Travous sells her art at Framations and at a gallery in Clayton and said she enjoys drawing scenes along the riverfront. She picked the Train Depot for the morning challenge "Sunrise over the River," because she's always wanted to paint it. 
"I like doing the buildings on Main Street and here, and this just -- it's challenging. It's got a lot of green in the background and I like to do something I haven't done before," she said. 
Artists will spend the next several days painting and drawing en plein air for a chance to win cash prizes. On Saturday, the awards will b given out for best of show, second and third place at 7 p.m. at Picasso's. See the full schedule here.
Travous said she participates in lots of plein air art contests. 
"It's kind of nice to be able to get out and look at what other artist's are doing that see what you like that they're doing that maybe you could incorporate into your own," she said.