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.

As an exciting conclusion to the 1st Annual PleinAir Salon competition, a check for $15,000 was presented to New Jersey artist D. Eleinne Basa for her painting “Afternoon Light” during the 1st Annual Plein Air Convention & Expo in Las Vegas on April 12, 2012. Other awards were presented totaling $6,000.

Only 4 days left to get a $200 discount on the price of participating in the most important event ever for outdoor painters! If you aren’t among the hundreds of enthusiasts currently registered for the 1st Annual Plein Air  Convention & Expo in Las Vegas from April 12-15, REGISTER NOW by visiting www.pleinairconvention.com.

Kathryn Stats and Kenn Backhaus just voted on the award winners and semi-finalists in the January/February PleinAir Magazine Salon Competition. Nancy Crookston of Oakland, CA received the first place award; Nikolo Balkanski of Lakewood, CO won the second place award; and Jeffrey Watts of Encinitas, CA was picked as the third place winner. All the award winners and nine semi-finalists now become eligible to compete for the $20,000 in cash awards.

Both Kim Lordier and Ned Mueller were extremely impressed with Mitch Baird’s painting of gondoliers navigating a canal in Venice, Italy and awarded it the First Prize in the November/December competition for the 1st Annual PleinAir Salon. The Arizona artist is a dedicated plein air painter who uses his field sketches in the studio to create stunning landscapes, still lifes, and figurative paintings.

Oregon artist Mitch Baird’s painting “A Guiding Nudge” was selected to receive the First Prize award in the November/December 1st Annual PleinAir Salon Competition by judges Kim Lordier and Ned Mueller. Second prize went to Marc Dalessio for his painting “Barn at Turback”, and Third Prize was given to Aaron Schuerr for his painting titled “River Glow.” The judges offered comments about all three of these paintings.

The only way to have a shot at winning the $20,000 in cash prizes in the November/December section of the 1st Annual PleinAir Salon Competition is to fill out the entry form and upload your paintings TODAY! Don’t miss your chance at winning BIG!

Don’t let the holiday festivities make you to forget about important deadlines that are approaching. The cutoff for entering the November/December bimonthly 1st Annual PleinAir Salon Competition being judged by Kim Lordier and Ned Mueller is December 31, 2011; and the deadlines for entering a number of important 2012 plein air festivals are also getting close. Here are a few dates to put on your calendar for the new year.

We asked Ned Mueller to tell us about the painting that Jill Carver selected to win First Prize in the September/October section of the 1st National PleinAir Salon Competition. “This painting is one of my favorites as well as it is for many other people, and I am very grateful for that,” Mueller says.

Jill Carver just finished selecting the top three winners and eight semi-finalists in the September/October PleinAir Salon competition www.PleinAirSalon.OnlineJuriedShows.com. Ned Mueller received the First Prize, Marc Delassio was chosen as the Second Place winner, and David Tanner was picked as the Third Place winner.