Texas artist Kyle Ma clinched this month’s PleinAir™ Salon with a 36 x 36 in. oil painting titled “Cathedral Wash.” The canvas depicts a popular riverbed trail that leads to the Colorado River and on to the Grand Canyon.

Kyle Ma holds a BS in Geology from the University of Texas at Austin but chose to pursue art as a career. He believes it reinforces the idea of making careful observations and seeking to understand these observations, a skill Kyle feels is extremely important in art. 

 “Painting, to me, is an extremely passionate experience,” he says. “I paint as much as I can, and hope that I can communicate with the viewer what I saw and how I felt each time that I pick up a brush.”

Though he’s a top-shelf western landscape painter, Kyle Ma also paints a mean flower. He takes you through his painting process from beginning to end in his video, Painting Roses.

Master Artist Ned Mueller judged this round. The monthly Salon is sponsored by PleinAir™ Magazine but open to all painting styles and mediums. Below we highlight the top winners along with the judge’s comments about why their work stood out. 

These artists will be featured in the February/March print issue of PleinAir™ Magazine and the January/February digital issue of Fine Art Connoisseur.

WINNERS

First Place Overall
$600 Cash Prize

Kyle Ma, Cathedral Wash
(Image top of page)
Oil, 36×36 in.

“Wow, this fine work of art covered everything that I think goes into making a great painting…. concept, design and color…and in this case atmosphere as it is a landscape painting. The idea of the arroyo leading our eye back into the middleground and background; the great drawing skills and arrangement and shapes of the rocks, dirt and bushes… their chroma and temperature so beautifully orchestrated and giving us the beauty of that violet mountain and little group of clouds. What is there not to like about this masterpiece!”

Second Place Overall
$400 Cash Prize

Lyudmila Tomova Clark, Grace in Motion, Oil, 18×24 in.

“One can see and feel the movement and beauty of the dancers, so fresh and spontaneous, well drawn and designed- no sloppiness in its execution. That dark outfit on the instructor really makes the painting and sets her apart from all that lovely action going on behind her. Little definition in the right place, says a lot.”

Third Place Overall
$200 Cash Prize

Jane Fritz, Shimmering, Watercolor, 21×14 in.

“We can feel that bright, gurgling water with all of its sparkle and busyness, that beautiful contrast and activity of all the bright greens and oranges, against the quiet blue water in the lower right. All of that well designed action, in contrast with the bright rocks in the background and beautiful yellow green water flowing out of it! All masterfully designed and executed with watercolor!”

Highlights from the winners within 30+ individual categories and runners up. All Category Winners receive a $50 Cash Prize

Best Still Life: Paula Holzclaw, Orchids with Pears, 16 x 20 in. oil

Best Landscape: Julie Davis, Frio River Bluffs, oil, 20 x 24 in.

The monthly PleinAir Salon rewards artists with over $50,000 in cash prizes and exposure of their work. A winning painting, chosen annually from the monthly winners, is featured on the cover of PleinAir magazine. The deadline is ongoing, so visit PleinAirSalon.com