Fall color began to arrive with warm breezes and perfect outdoor painting conditions during 2024 Plein Air Grand Marais. Almost 100 painters spent eight days in early September enjoying daily paint-outs, workshops, and artist socials while competing for prizes awarded by this year’s juror, Brock Larson.
More from the organizers:
Plein Air Grand Marais is a joint enterprise of Outdoor Painters of Minnesota and the Cook County Historical Society, which mounts the Competition Exhibit in the Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery.
Plein Air Grand Marais is unique in its emphasis on artists’ education and camaraderie. The event is organized by participating artists and proudly attracts nationally recognized talent while welcoming painters of all experience levels. The event also celebrates artists in the Arrowhead region with a North Shore Invitational class of the Competition.
The competition exhibit features 60 artists who each display four paintings eligible for awards totaling $7,000. This year’s paintings include scenes from paint-outs organized in wilderness locations throughout Cook County, including YMCA Camp Menogyn at an entry to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness accessible only by boat ride across Bearskin Lake. The competition exhibit at Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery is displayed through October 6.
Plein Air Grand Marais 2024 Awards
Open Class Reception
Best in Show: Angela Velin | Temperance | Oil
Three top awards for Paintings of Exceptional Merit (POEMs):
Tim Sullivan | Poplar River | Oil
Jean Larson | Superior Glass | Watercolor
Stephen Herzog | The Hjordis – Magna Charter | Oil
Three honorable mentions:
Kelly Frankenberg | Wave after Wave | Acrylic
Mary Klein | Gitchee Gumee | Oil
Elizabeth Lexau | Along the Way to the Lighthouse | Pastel
Birney Quick Paint
Grand Prize: Gary Olson | Oil
Three POEMs:
Kelly Schamberger | Oil
Jimmy Navarro | Oil
MaryAnn Cleary | Oil
Competition Class Reception
Grand Prize for Best Body of Work: Neil Sherman | Oil
Artists’ Choice Award for Best Body of Work: Hannah C. Heyer | Oil
Six Top POEM Awards:
Hannah C. Heyer, Cynthia S. Kath Award for Exceptional Color & Light: Waxing Poetic | Oil
David R. Becker, Nocturne: Hjordis Evening Cruise | Watercolor and Gouache
Bob Upton | Transparent Harbor | Oil
Jack Dant | Evening Departure | Oil
Carl Bretzke | Mark on the Rocks with a Twist | Oil
Kelly Schamberger | Unabandon | Oil
Special Categories:
Best Sense of Place: Deann Kroll | Canoe Workshop, Grand Portage | Oil
Beauty of Watermedia: Gary Olson | Cotton Grass | Gouache
Beauty of Oil: Michele Combs | Hollow Rock | Oil
Beauty of Pastel: Lisa Stauffer | Storm Over Superior | Pastel
Best Historic Site: David R. Becker | Looking Into the Window of B.Bally’s | Watercolor and Gouache
Honorable Mentions:
1. Kurt Schulzetenburg | Fractal | Oil
2. Stephen Wysocki | Island of Gods | Oil
3. Michelle Wegler | Sea or Sky | Pastel
4. Abbey Fitzgerald | Splash and Sparkle | Oil
5. Nelia Harper | Turbulence | Oil
2025 Plein Air Grand Marais is scheduled for September 5-13, 2025.
Interested artists and collectors should visit OPM’s web site for the event at www.outdoorpaintersofminnesota.org.
