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Friday, April 4th
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The Painting That Stopped Jill Carver in Her Tracks |
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Master artist Jill Carver has revealed her selections for the winners in the February 2025 PleinAir Salon art competition. Scroll down to see the winning paintings and read Jill’s comments on her top picks.
PleinAir Salon Art Competition Winners Preview:
1st Place Overall: “Do Not Go Gentle” |
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First Place Overall: Seth Tummins, “Do Not Go Gentle,” Oil, 18×36 in.
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“Artists have the power to make us see the world differently, to pay attention,” Jill said. “I would never have imagined that an irrigator could provide such a poetic motif. Sometimes it is the idea that elevates a winner from a portfolio of very accomplished and pleasing paintings.
“This beautifully nuanced and harmonious piece stopped me in my tracks – the idea and the execution. There is so much to see here: the sunset colors depicted not just once, but again in refracted form in the spray of water; the ghosts of receding water sprays creating vertical rhythms as they drift left to right. It does what a great painting should do, which is to conjure up real emotions – I held my breath, exhaled, and then stayed for a very long time.”
2nd Place Overall: “A Moment of Clarity”
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Second Place Overall: Lisa Egeli, “A Moment of Clarity,” Oil, 30×40 in.
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“Such an exemplary example of design serving concept. The high horizon line embellishes the sense of height in the Falls. Juxtaposed to the sheer force and energy of the plummeting water (the prime motif), a secondary narrative of an evening sky adds a sense of calm. And then the genius of almost half the canvas being devoted to water spray, which both completes the story, but also provides a visual rest area. It is so beautifully balanced between these three areas of information. Masterful management!”
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3rd Place Overall: “Waterbird Vista, Martinez”
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Third Place Overall: Nancy Roberts, “Waterbird Vista, Martinez,” Acrylic, 8×24 in.
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“Here, an industrial subject is filtered through the acute observation of shape, rhythm, and color. Shapes are repeated, though never replicated; they lead us on a joyful path through and around. Even the angled shape in the top-right of the sky is thoughtfully mirrored bottom-left in the still water. The color choices are bold but also harmonious. And the transparency of the paint layers invites us to admire the process too, which adds a further dimension for the viewer. What is revealed there is excellent draftsmanship, confident color mixing, and engaging brushwork. An exciting piece!”
Plein Air Category Winners:
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Best Plein Air Landscape: Carole Gray-Weihman, “Before the Storm,” Oil, 12×16 in.
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Best Plein Air Acrylic & Gouache: Steve Browning (Ireland),”Howth Cliff Walk,” Acrylic, 10×14 in.
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Best Plein Air Oil: Ned Mueller, “Valentina,” 16×12 in.
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Best Plein Air Pastel: Aaron Schuerr, “First Snow,” 11×14 in.
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Best Plein Air Watercolor: Carolyn Lord, “New Year Narcissus,” 15×11 in.
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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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Scott Christensen on Establishing Key |
By Jenn Rein
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Scott Christensen, Gouache Study, 2020, gouache, 8 x 8 in., Private collection, Plein air and studio
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It may come as a surprise to some that an accomplished painter like Scott Christensen has spent so much time studying the work of great illustrators, such as Walter Everett and Dean Cornwell. But Christensen’s dutiful attention to the importance of establishing key value in a composition has been largely inspired by artists in this genre. “The very key that I start with, I end with,” he explains.
His objective is to keep the value pattern strong in order to aid connectivity. The old painterly adage that “value does all the work, color gets all the credit,” rings deeply true with this artist. Addressing connectivity from the outset of the design plan means setting aside the notion that the only way to make impact is through use of color.
“Once you establish that one value — that one note — everything has to play to that. If you are forced to paint down to the note you’ve established, your shadows get darker and you can’t see into them. I realized if I stayed in the middle values and temperatures I could see the color shifts and manipulate the values. Then when I needed a dark accent, I could manipulate that later.”
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Editor’s Note: Scott Christensen is leading a Pre-Convention Oil Painting Workshop at the Plein Air Convention & Expo this year! Learn more at PleinAirConvention.com and register now.
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