Among the 20+ category winners and runners up in the July 2024 PleinAir Salon, artists showed strong skill in air, earth, fire, and water, with landscapes, sunsets, waterfalls… and bugles.
New Hampshire pastel artist Lisa Regopoulos won Best PleinAir Pastel for her loose and warmly lit bank of trees and reeds (top of page) titled “Channeling Monet.”
Christine Code lit the very air on fire with her painting, “Crimson Dusk,” which took First in the Nocturne category.
Christine Code, “Crimson Dusk,” oil, 20×40 in.
Sonja Cook plunged us deep into cool and crystalline blues and greens in “Quiet Space,” her winning oil in the Best Water slot.
Sonja Cook, “Quiet Space,” oil, 24×24 in.
The waterfall in Barbara Jaenicke’s painting titled “Rushing Around” also sparkled with life, yet it was her treatment and composition of the waterfall as well as its banks that landed her the Best Landscape win.
Barbara Jaenicke, “Rushing Around,” oil, 20×20 in.
Winning in Best Still Life category, Jane Manco rendered diverse textures and surfaces with formidable skill in depicting old books, worn wood, metal, silk ribbons and a vintage American flag.
Jane Manco, “Summer Pastime,” oil, 24×24 in.
Here Come the Judge: Meet Award-winning Artist Kathie Odom
The September cycle of the 14th annual PleinAir Slon $50,000 Art Competition is underway. Judging this month is award-winning artist Kathie Odom.
After graduating from The University of Tennessee in Art Education and Fine Arts, Kathie received early recognition for pastel works. But it was 2009 when she found a home in painting oils en plein air.
“I call myself a ‘Nostalgic Impressionist’ as a way of identifying the subjects and style of painting that interest me most. No matter which part of America I paint, I am really passionate about plein air and allow myself to get lost in the wonderful process of it all!”
Kathie resides with her husband and maintains a studio in the mountains of East Tennessee. She travels extensively exhibiting in fine art shows throughout the nation, teaching workshops and participating in plein air events. Kathie’s original works have sold internationally and she is quite proud of her gallery representation.
