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Each year the Edmonds Arts Festival selects an artist whose work captures the spirit of this waterfront community. For 2026, that vision belongs to painter Ben Groff, whose luminous new painting - created as the official Festival poster - captures the Frances Anderson Center at twilight beneath a dramatic Northwest sky. Groff’s work will represent the 69th Annual Edmonds Arts Festival, taking place June 19-21, 2026 at the Frances Anderson Center and Playfield.
Groff’s commissioned poster painting - Sunset Over Frances Anderson Center - captures a luminous and iconic Edmonds moment: a sweeping slice of sky view toward Puget Sound framed by the well-worn neighborhood stairs leading up to the Frances Anderson Center, where the Festival has welcomed artists and visitors for generations.
The painting is a striking composition of saturated evening color and perspective. The result is both cinematic and contemplative. The familiar Edmonds view transformed into something transcendent. The painting evokes a quiet moment at dusk when the town settles into evening and the sky becomes the main event. The work invites viewers to pause, breathe, and feel the sense of place that makes Edmonds special.
Groff is widely recognized for paintings that elevate everyday landscapes into emotional experiences. He is an award-winning painter of realist landscapes, travel scenes, and florals. His work has drawn interest for its heightened color and sensitive use of light to evoke both drama and tranquility in the mind of the viewer. His artistic philosophy centers on capturing not only what a place looks like, but how it feels.
The commissioned poster piece was created specifically for the Festival and its historic location.
“When the Edmonds Arts Festival came to me with this commission for poster art, I was asked to include the Frances Anderson Center, the current “home” of the Festival, in the finished painting. I immediately envisioned a twilight scene with a big, brilliant sky, a chiaroscuro foreground in sharp perspective, and the beloved vista of water and mountains that make Edmonds such a special place. I wanted to keep it bold and simple, even stylized. I am grateful for this opportunity and for the informed collaboration of the Edmonds Arts Festival team,” says Groff.
The poster artwork will serve as the official image of the 2026 Edmonds Arts Festival, appearing on posters, merchandise, and promotional materials. Limited edition posters signed by the artist will be available during the Festival.
Each year the Edmonds Arts Festival chooses an artist to create an original work of art for the Festival Poster. The Edmonds Festival and Foundation collection of posters goes back to 1984. Starting in 2022, art from past Festivals have been available in the Virtual Store. This year’s poster will be available at the Festival store at the event!
BEN GROFF
Artist | Lynnwood, Washington
Ben Groff is an award-winning painter of realist landscapes, travel scenes, and florals. His work has drawn intense interest for its heightened color and sensitive use of light to evoke both drama and tranquillity in the mind of the viewer.
“Groff’s landscapes seem dipped in the space between reality and gossamer-fantasy,” according to visitedmonds.com. Realism is infused with a dreamlike, timeless quality that illuminates a moment of transcendence. “Color is light and light is color,” Groff says. “They are tools to pry open a spiritual level -- the deep and powerful impression the original scene made on me. A good painting should make that same impression on the viewer.”
Originally from Pennsylvania and New York, Ben has lived most of his life in the Puget Sound region, where he enjoyed a long career as a nurse at Virginia Mason Hospital. His interests have included hiking, mountaineering, travel, music, photography, art, and literature; he has been a fiction writer with many published stories. He is currently a member-artist at Parklane Gallery in Kirkland, WA, where his work can be seen on an ongoing basis.
2026 Edmonds Arts Festival Student Art Exhibit Poster
The 2026 Student Art poster artist is James Lee. He is in 4th grade and attends Madrona K-8 school. The original painting is titled "Sockeye Salmon" and is acrylic painted on canvas.
