Artist Lori Putnam, the 10th Annual PleinAir Salon Grand Prize Winner, has revealed her selections for the March 2025 PleinAir Salon art competition. Scroll down to see the winning paintings and read Lori’s comments on her top picks.
PleinAir Salon Art Competition Winners Preview:
1st Place Overall: “Into the Distance”
“One word: Energy! There is an unexplainable stirring that happens when a painting has this kind of movement,” Lori said. “I compare this to the same sort of excitement I get when I watch an orchestra conductor with baton moving, hitting the downbeat, then moving again while the other hand is begging for more before gently pushing back. It is all but impossible to ignore … float, hit, release, attack, the crescendo, and dramatic finale.
“This artist takes us through a journey here. Compositionally, there is a strong ‘X’ design using diagonal lines. The masses are brilliantly organized by value and contrast. The piece is masterfully painted using a variety of mark-making and brushwork.”
2nd Place Overall: “South Shore YC”
“There are several presumed rules the artist has ignored here, and this piece would not work otherwise. The amount of the sky and the water are equal, resulting in a darker, horizontal line in the center that stretches across an extreme horizontal canvas proportion. Raising or lowering the horizon line would change this work, but not in a good way.
“The heavy-weighted dark pattern of boats with their masses extended into the air provides the perfect weight to the lower half of the painting, indicating that the horizon is actually higher than it is, and giving us a sense of calm, peacefulness, and safety. That perceived peacefulness is echoed in the simplicity of the sky and setting sun.
“Restraint is the artist’s strength here, proving that subject is secondary to a clear statement. Sensitive use of neutral colors increases the perception of a chroma where it is most needed, in the sky.”
3rd Place Overall: “Henry and His Cane”
“The incredible craft is immediately evident in this work. It is what you see first and want to examine for a very long time. I truly wish I could do that in person. But judging a competition online provides a different and important advantage, and that is the ability to ‘stand back’ more easily, and take in the piece as a whole.
“The strength of this design is revealed when the work is reduced to a thumbnail where we observe the figure only in terms of a light/dark pattern. There is intelligent diminution that suddenly appears. No two light shapes are the same in size or importance. The largest, the face, neck, and shirt collar, expands slightly into the light background by use of soft edges at the back of the ear and neck. Notice how the different angle and placement of his two hands create the feeling that one commands our attention and the other takes on a supporting role.
“Finally, dark toning on each button slowly increases resulting in each light shape becoming smaller and smaller. This compositional approach is also observed when comparing each of the dark shapes to each other.”
Plein Air Category Winners:
Enter the PleinAir Salon Art Competition Today
All winners in the PleinAir® Salon will be entered into the judging for the annual cash prizes, including the Grand Prize of $15,000 and their painting on the cover of PleinAir® Magazine. Could you be the next winner?
The next round of the PleinAir Salon has begun so hurry, as this competition ends on the last day of the month. See the rest of this month’s winners and enter your best art in the PleinAir Salon here.
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