Artist C.W. Mundy judged the October-November contest in the PleinAir Salon, giving First Place to a stylized view of the West Coast landscape.
Eric Bowman won First Place for “Be Thou My Vision,” an oil painting. Joseph Gyurcsak won Second Place with “Evening Serenade,” a piece he entered as a nocturne. Third Place went to Derek Penix for “New York City.”
In the awards for various media, Gyurcsak took home another award with his win for Best Acrylic with “Bushwick,” Mukesh Thapa won Best Oil for “End of Green,” Nancie King Mertz won Best Pastel with “Park’s Protector,” and Thomas Bucci won Best Watercolor with “River Traffic, Pittsburgh.”
The Salon also gives awards based on subject matter. In the October-November contest, Best Plein Air was won by Jason Sacran for “Jacob’s Ladder,” Best Building went to Mark Daly for “Winter Flags,” Best Figure in the Landscape was won by Nancy Boren for “Cimarron Solstice,” Best Floral went to Grace Devito for “Pomegranate and Vines,” Matteo Caloiaro took Best Landscape with “Kitty,” Best Nocturne was won by Gyurcsak (that makes three!) for “Evening Serenade,” Rusty Frentner’s “Where the Buffalo Used to Roam” won Best Outdoor Still Life, and France Pampeyan won Best Water for “Ferris Wheel and Ferry.”
PleinAir magazine added several new categories to the PleinAir Salon this year. Best Sketchbook was won by Ned Mueller for “Castlebridge Session,” Best Vehicle was won by Lon Brauer for “Grandpa,” Best Artist Under 30 went to Melanie Thompson for “High Desert Skies,” and Best Artist Over 65 was won by Stefan Mackey for “Mason in His Studio.” No award was given for Best Student.
The PleinAir Salon consists of six bi-monthly contests, with the First, Second, and Third Place winners of each contest, and the category winners, automatically entered into the annual competition. First prize in the annual competition is $15,000 cash and the publication of the winning image on the cover of PleinAir magazine, along with a feature story. Second Place earns an artist $3,000 and an article in the digital edition of PleinAir magazine. Third Place yields $1,500 in cash. Three additional finalists win $500. Aside from First, Second and Third Place overall, categories include Best Oil, Best Pastel, Best Watercolor, Best Acrylic, Best Plein Air, Best Building, Best Figure in the Landscape, Best Floral, Best Landscape, Best Outdoor Still Life, Best Nocturne, Best Water, Best Vehicle, Best Sketchbook, Best Artist Over 65, Best Student, and Best Artist Under 30.
Did you know that the PleinAir Salon got a little richer in prizes in 2016? There have long been big annual prizes, but now artists earn cash for the top prizes in the bimonthly contests. The First Place winners in the six yearly contests each earn $1,000, with $500 going to Second Place and $250 going to the Third Place winners. The winner of each bi-monthly contest is also featured in this e-newsletter and profiled on OutdoorPainter.com. In mid-April, the $21,000 in annual prizes will be awarded to the annual winners at the 2017 Plein Air Convention & Expo, in San Diego, California.
The next deadline is January 31, and Jean Stern is the judge. Enter now.
