The Quick Draw winner from Jason Sacran,
With a top prize valued at more than $4,000, the Plein Air Rockies 2013 Competition attracted some strong painters. Who went home with awards?

2.-NEWS.ROCKIES.-ulrich-Gleiter
Jeff Legg, Kelly Kotary, Antonin Passemard, Anastasia Dukhanina, and Ulrich Gleiter

From August 10 to 22, participating painters created 220 pieces in the Estes Park area of Colorado. The event was presented by and benefited the Cultural Arts Council (CAC) of Estes Park, which directed 50 percent of all painting sales toward arts programs in the town. For more than 12 years the CAC has produced a national plein air event, making it one of the oldest and most established shows of its kind in Colorado. But the entries show the diversity of an event young at heart. “The PAR 2013 art collection features a diverse collection of subjects and mediums,” CAC director Lynda S. Vogel says. “Working in oil, watercolor, pastel, and acrylic, the artists painted the many subjects found in the northern Rockies, including historic landmarks such as the Stanley Hotel, the Estes Tramway, and cabins in the Estes Valley. Everyday scenes include day and night street scenes in downtown Estes Park, the vintage campers at Mary’s Lake Campground, wildflowers, and scenes from Grand Lake. And the event would not be complete without the beautiful mountain peaks, Trail Ridge Road vistas, and lakes of Rocky Mountain National Park.”

Bonnie Gangelhoff and Ulrich Gleiter served as jurors for the awards, with Robert Wands judging August 25’s 90-minute Quick Draw competition. Mayor’s Choice and Artist Choice awards were given as well. The opening reception, held at the CAC gallery, drew 200 people. The competition’s 11 awards were worth a combined $10,675.

3.-NEWS.ROCKIES.-Jeff-Legg---The-Brook
Jeff Legg’s Best of Show piece, “The Brook.”

Best of Show, earning the winner $1,000 cash and a full-page ad in SouthwestArt magazine, went to Jeff Legg for his oil painting “The Brook.” PleinAir magazine’s Award of Excellence was won by Anastasia Dukhanina. Her oil painting “The Morning Light” earned her a half-page ad in PleinAir magazine, a banner ad in this e-newsletter, and $750 cash.

4.-NEWS.ROCKIES.-Fancy-Falls
“Fancy Falls,” by Kelly Kotary. Winner of the Artist Choice Award

The Cultural Arts Council of EP/Board of Directors Gold Award was won by Jason Sacran for his oil painting “Morning Clouds.” The SourceTek Miniature Competition Award of Excellence went to Antonin Passemard for “Estes Valley.” Estes Park Mayor Bill Pinkham chose Gayle Crites’ piece “Part of the Sky Rained a Frame” for the Town of Estes Park Silver Award. Kelly Kotary won the Artist Choice Award for “Fancy Falls,” while the People’s Choice Award went to Jason Sacran for “Morning Clouds.”

Sacran’s painting “Morning Light” won the Quick Draw competition. John P. Lasater IV won second place in the Quick Draw, and Gene Youngman took third. The Poster competition was won by Nicholas Reti.

The exhibition of pieces from the event will be on view through October 27 at the CAC gallery. For more information, visit the event’s website.


LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here