I was honored to be the juror for the competition. It was a difficult job with hundreds of excellent entries, but several works rose to the top on repeated viewings as exceptional examples of plein air artistry.
First place: “New Extended Hours” by Scott Lloyd Anderson of Minnesota.
A superb painting in every respect. Nice handling of the natural and artificial light, and fine control of detail module, putting just enough well-drawn detail where you need it. Bravo for choosing a subject that most people would pass by.
Second Place “Red Buildings” by Shaun Horne of Colorado.
The artist warranted that the work was painted entirely in plein air. It's beautifully observed, particularly in the reflected light, and it goes way beyond what photography could ever capture. There's a confident design sense informing all the small and large forms.
Third Place “A Table Setting” by John Ball of Florida.
Very tasteful handling of the low window light and the rich darks. Good control of focus and highlights. It’s an unexpected subject, with an execution worthy of Sargent.
The semi-finalists include Rajesh Sawant, Scott Lloyd Anderson, Eleinne Basa, William Wray, Frank Strazzulla, Jason Tako, Jim Wodark, Tracey Maras, and Becky Joy.
Honorable mention awards went to to Stewart White, Ron Grauer, Colin Page, Scott Lloyd Anderson, and Mamie Walters. There were many other fine works, too many to mention here.
In this video, follow along with the grand prize winner, Scott Lloyd Anderson, as he paints a suburban landscape. (link to video.)
Read about the prizes and upcoming competitions at Plein Air magazine's blog.
Scott Anderson
Shaun Horne
John Ball
8 comments:
Fantastic video. I think I might be convinced to try some plein air myself. thanks for sharing. I also loved the informative color gamut blog mini-series.
-cheers
Yes, Bravo indeed to the winners! And the same to the judges. Those are wonderful selections.
I mentally made the same connection to Sargent as you, James, before even reading your comment. There's a quick Sargent oil sketch of a dining room scene in the collection of Smith College (which I wouldn't be surprised if you've seen). This painting is very reminiscent of that.
Tom, yes, I love that Sargent, too.
i love Shaun Horne's work! thanks for posting it!
also on a side note, i'm hoping to find out more info on your mica/baltimore visit, will it be open to the public, if not can you sneak me in, haha
you mentioned a dinotopia retrospective in MA next year, do you have anymore details?
thanks!
It's pretty amazing that Shaun was able to paint that much detail in that kind of weather. My hands would have been shaking.
Thanks very much, Jim. Like Denman Rooke, I am working my way toward doing plein air, thanks to powerful advocates like you. I believe that it will highlight many of my skills and lack thereof, which is a good thing.
I became aware of Scott Lloyd Anderson, via the Plein Air Magazine award-- great choice!
There's some really nice stuff in his work that makes me want to push harder on the contemporary urban landscape in my own work-- and the video was terrifically inspiring.
So glad you helped me find his work!
Haha, that was funny, the guy who yelled "you suck!" right as he started to paint. Ive never gotten a "you suck" but I have had plenty of sniggers and audibly obnoxious "bro's" in gangs, mostly when their girlfriends seem interested. They are usually much quieter when they walk past a few hours later. Unless Ive had a scraper, then Im usually long gone, their comment echoing in my heart... haha screw those A**holes!
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