There were lots of reports about the 14th Annual Plein Air Paint-Out held from April 19-21, 2012 in New Harmony, Indiana, but you haven't seen some of the great photographs that were sent to us weeks after the event concluded.

For the sixth year, the Outdoor Painters Society organized Plein Air Southwest at the Southwest Gallery in Dallas, TX. The plein air paintings will be on view from April 7th through May 5th, 2012. Ned Mueller won the Best of Show award, Michael Obermeyer was selected to receive the PleinAir magazine Award of Excellence, and Diane Frossard won the Vasari Classic Artists Oil Colors Award of Excellence.

Perry Austin won the First Place prize in the recent 3rd Annual Plein Air Paint-Out at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia (April 15-22, 2012). Roger Dale Brown won the Second Place award, and Karen Stewart received the Third Place award. .Ken DeWaard won the Callaway Purchase Award.

In Hawaii, record sales were reached in the Maui Plein Air Painting Invitational of 2012. From February18 - 26, 2012. Twenty-five invited artist painted en plein air from the upcountry flower farms and ranches to the coasts and beaches on the Island of Maui. The Best of Show winner was Carleton Kinkade, from Maui, for his painting “Shady Palm.”

The Plein Air Painters of New Mexico (PAPNM) are taking advantage of the internet by hosting online exhibitions and contests and allowing members to vote for their favorite paintings. Winners in the latest contest, “Color Passages,” were announced on November 28, 2011.

In 2006, the original PleinAir magazine transitioned to become Fine Art Connoisseur (FAC), an informative and authoritative publication for artists, curators, art historians, dealers, and collectors. Peter Trippi, who is the distinguished editor of FAC, often supports arts organizations by judging entries to their contests. He recently helped select work for competition organized by the America China Oil Painting Artists League (ACOPAL).

Among the artists participating in the “A Breath of Plein Air Exhibition” organized by the Plein Air Painters of the Jersey Coast were Rae O’Shea (First Place, Signature Member-Small Works), Marge Levine (Second Place Signature Member- Small Works), and Candace Petersen (First Place, Artist Member-Small Works.)