Armed with their frocks, brushes and watercolors, artists gathered on the island of Alameda for the 21st annual Frank Bette Plein Air Paintout this week to capture vignettes of the city’s distinguished Victorian homes and house boats floating placidly along the waterfront.
More than 40 juried artists traveled from across the Bay Area to a new Alameda neighborhood each day for plein air painting – French for “open air” – to compete, and hopefully sell, their artwork at an awards ceremony on Saturday at the South Center Market.
“Essentially, you get three hours to finish a painting,” said Arijit Dutta, an architect from El Cerrito who was painting a Victorian home on Encinal Avenue. “Then you have to go put up your painting in the location that they’ve suggested and it’s up for sale. And then the rest of the week, you’re basically choosing your own subject and painting.”
The competition, started in 2005, has been done in remembrance of Frank Bette. The eclectic artist painted, sculpted and restored furniture from his home at 1601 Paru Street until his death at the age of 96 in 1999.
Artist Randall Stauss, of San Rafael, paints along Encinal Avenue during the Frank Bette Center for the Arts Plein Air Paint Out in Alameda, Calif., on Wednesday, July 29, 2026. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Per Bette’s wishes, his incandescent yellow Victorian home was bequeathed to the public as “a place for meetings, readings, showings, and other creative doings.” Today, the Frank Bette Center for the Arts is a critical studio workplace for East Bay creatives – new and old alike.
Artist Joanie Brook traveled from Bay Farm Island to challenge herself in the competition and meet fellow plein air enthusiasts. She also took the day off work.
“I just found out today that what we’re doing stays up for the week, so I’m just hoping to have fun,” Brook said, as she painted a porch on Encinal Avenue. “I get to see parts of Alameda I never would have checked out before – not just driving by, but to sit and look at the details.”
Artist Carolyn Westerman paints a nearby building in a parking lot near Encinal Avenue during the Frank Bette Center for the Arts Plein Air Paint Out in Alameda, Calif., on Wednesday, July 29, 2026. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Artist Nathaniel Bice, of Alameda finished a painting during the Frank Bette Center for the Arts Plein Air Paint Out near Encinal Avenue in Alameda, Calif., on Wednesday, July 29, 2026. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)