Kimball Geisler, our Grand Prize Winner, accepting handshakes from fellow painters at PACE
Kimball Geisler, our Grand Prize Winner, accepting handshakes from fellow painters at PACE

Congratulations to the incredible artists of the 12th Annual PleinAir Salon Art Competition from PleinAir™ Magazine! 🎨✨🎉 Cheers to all the winners and runner-ups!

A standing ovation for Kimball Geisler, the Grand Prize winner! 🏆 🥇 Kimball’s painting, “Tower of Towers” was the big winner. Bravo on this well-deserved achievement!

This year was truly a global celebration of art with over 10,000 paintings entered from nearly 4,000 artists from 65 countries, including Israel, Turkey, Ukraine, Czechoslovakia, and Vietnam. The awards were announced live on stage at the 10th Annual Plein Air Convention & Expo (PACE) in Denver, Colorado.

12th Annual PleinAir Salon Annual Winners

Grand Prize $15,000 and the Cover of PleinAir Magazine: Kimball Geisler, “Tower of Towers”
Second Place, $3,000: Robin Caspari, “The Edge”
Third Place, $1,500: Luis Azon, “Late Afternoon in Spain”

PleinAir Magazine's 12th Annual PleinAir Salon Awards June Winner Kimball Geisler Tower of Towers Best Landscape
Kimball Geisler, “Tower of Towers,” Oil, 60 x 45 in.
Robin Caspari, "The Edge," oil, 12 x 10 in.
Robin Caspari, “The Edge,” oil, 12 x 10 in.
art competitions - Luis Azon, "Late Afternoon in Spain," 52 x 52 in., oil
Luis Azon, “Late Afternoon in Spain,” 52 x 52 in., oil

Honorable Mentions, $500:
Rukiye Garip, “Winter Reflection”
Phillip Harris, “Winter Thaw No. 6”
YiGang Mao, “Floating Dream”

PleinAir Magazine's art competition Winner Rukiye Garip Winter Refection First Place Overall
“Winter Reflection,” Rukiye Garip, Watercolor, 30×22 in.
PleinAir Salon - Phillip Harris, "Winter Thaw No.6," oil, 35 x 40 in.
Phillip Harris, “Winter Thaw No.6,” oil, 35 x 40 in.
PleinAir Magazine's 12th Annual PleinAir Salon Awards June Winner Mao YiGang Floating Dream First Place Overall
Mao YiGang, “Floating Dream,” Oil, 40 x 60 in.

People’s Choice, $500: Camille Przewodek, “Riley”

PleinAir Magazine's 12th Annual May PleinAir Salon Awards Winner Camille Przewodek Riley Best Figure & Portrait
Camille Przewodek, “Riley,” Oil, 20 x 16 in.

Best Acrylic, $250: Rick J. Delanty, “Sunflowers and Sunlight, for Ukraine”
Best Oil, $250: Laurie Kersey, “Stillness”
Best Pastel, $250: Lisa Skelly, “Exhilaration”
Best Watercolor, $250: Stan Miller, “Charles”

PleinAir Salon - Rick J. Delanti, "Sunflowers and Sunlight, for Ukraine," acrylic, 12 x 9 in.
Rick J. Delanti, “Sunflowers and Sunlight, for Ukraine,” acrylic, 12 x 9 in.
PleinAir Salon - Laurie Kersey, "Stillness," oil, 18 x 24 in.
Laurie Kersey, “Stillness,” oil, 18 x 24 in.
12th Annual April Plein Air Salon Awards Lisa Skelly Best Plein Air Pastel Exhilaration
Lisa Skelly, “Exhilaration,” Pastel, 8 x 10 in.
PleinAir Magazine's 12th Annual PleinAir Salon Awards December Winner Stan Miller Charles Best Figure & Portrait
Stan Miller, “Charles,” Watercolor, 24 x 36 in.

“Last year we had a total of $33 thousand in awards,” said CEO and Publisher Eric Rhoads, “and starting from last month with our 13th Annual Competition, we’ve upped it to $50,000 in awards, with more monthly prizes, and it’s all cash.”

Kari Stober, Eric Rhoads, and Kimball Geisner at PACE
PleinAir Salon Manager Kari Stober, Publisher Eric Rhoads, and Artist Kimball Geisner at PACE

Let’s celebrate the power of art together. Join us in applauding the immense talent and passion displayed in the PleinAir Salon Art Competition from PleinAir Magazine, and remember to enter your best work today at PleinAirSalon.com.


Become a better outdoor painter today when you get the FREE e-Book for artists, “240 Plein Air Painting Tips.” [click here]

And browse more free articles here at OutdoorPainter.com


3 COMMENTS

  1. All are lovely—-but how long did it take to paint them? Most are large. Did they
    Do most in studio from photos? Not that it isn’t ok but I think there should be
    An explanation. For myself and other plain air painters who are starting out to see
    Those paintings really are a bit discouraging. How could I ever do something like
    Those even in one day,

    • Hi Carolyn! Please don’t be discouraged – not all of these are plein air paintings. Here’s a statement from the FAQ page of the competition: “Since the Salon is published by PleinAir magazine, we have categories of content which might appear within our magazine. For instance, an article might feature the plein air paintings by an artist, but also the studio paintings by that artist (often based on a plein air study). We also might feature other paintings done by an artist outdoors or in a studio, which might be a portrait or figure, a still life or another subject. Though our focus is primarily plein air, we want to honor artists who start mostly en plein air, but who do a variety of work, giving them an opportunity to win prizes for their other work as well.”
      Best wishes to you!

  2. Where was the location of the mountain range, Tower of Towers, the winning painting by Kimball Geisler? My husband asked me, and I don’t know.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here