“This has been my goal for eleven years,” said landscape painter Camille Przewodek when she won the Grand Prize of the 13th Annual PleinAir Salon.
There were 278 paintings included in the judging for the 13th Annual PleinAir Salon Art Competition. This year’s competition drew almost 11,000 entries from nearly 3,000 artists, representing 73 countries. For her painting, “Sonoma Farm Vista,” Camille was awarded a $15,000 cash prize, and her work will be featured on the cover of PleinAir Magazine.
“It’s my favorite painting spot,” Camille said of ‘Sonoma Farm Vista.’ “I cannot paint a painting from this spot that does not sell. Now I never paint to sell. I try to just paint the best painting I can, and it’ll eventually find an owner.”
One reason Camille returns to this location, which is in Petaluma, California, is the versatility of the views. She explained that because it’s from the top of a hill, she can choose any direction for the view she wants to paint at that time. “I will paint at the same location over and over and over again,” she said. “Even if you return to the same spot, it’s going to be a completely different painting.”
How to Win Art Competitions
When it comes to Camille’s advice for others, she encourages artists to “get the basics together: their drawing skills, their values. It doesn’t have to be perfect but get a decent painting before entering.”
As an art competition judge herself, she frankly says she has seen artists enter who aren’t ready yet. “Before you enter, get an artist that you respect and you love their work,” she advises, “and have them look at your art to help determine whether or not you’re ready because if you enter over and over and never get it, you’re going to get discouraged. It’s important to get your drawing skills together and have a decent painting because if you have poor composition or poor perspective, that’s what you’re advertising.”
Speaking of which, Camille says she views art competitions as advertising because winning anything often includes an editorial write-up (such as this). “If I come up with an award, I post it on my social media and it’s advertising for me,” she says.
In addition to her art training at Wayne State University in Detroit, and earning a BFA in Illustration at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco, Camille studied painting with master colorist Henry Hensche at the Cape School of Art in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Camille is a Signature Member of the Laguna Plein Air Painters and the California Art Club; and a Master Signature Member of the American Impressionist Society, Oil Painters of America, and American Women Artists.
Watch the 13th Annual PleinAir Salon Awards Ceremony:
Additional Winners:
