Every month, the PleinAir Salon draws entries from painters across the country and around the world — and every month, one judge has the enviable and impossible task of choosing the best. For December 2025, that judge was Master Artist Debra Joy Groesser. Her verdicts were decisive. Her reasoning was illuminating. And her advice to artists considering entering their own work is worth a read.
The Paintings That Stopped Her
First place went to Fernando Micheli for Lovrijenac Fortress Overlook, Dubrovnik — an oil painting that, in Groesser’s words, grabbed her attention immediately. “It reminded me of some of Claude Monet’s impressionist paintings of the cliffs at Etretat,” she said. What sealed it was the water. “The execution of the water is simply stunning — the sparkle and patterns of the brilliant sunlight, the beautiful transparency and layering of color in the foreground water. You can almost feel the sunshine, smell the sea air and hear the gentle lapping of the water.” High praise — and a reminder that technical mastery, when it reaches a certain level, becomes something closer to magic.
Second Place: “Rocky Mountain Lake” (oil, 40 x 50 in.) by Ben Walter
Second place went to Ben Walter for Rocky Mountain Lake, a large-scale oil that Groesser praised for its skillful draftsmanship and command of values. “It feels as if you are standing right there,” she said — that quality of transporting the viewer entirely into the world of the painting.
Richie_Feb2014, 2/19/24, 2:20 PM, 16C, 8988×10902 (0+425), 150%, Custom, 1/12 s, R75.5, G63.3, B80.6
Third place went to Richard Carter for We Always Do, a moody, mysterious nocturne that Groesser described as almost voyeuristic. “The lone lighted window in the foreground building, the suggestion of figures in that window — these draw the viewer in and let them imagine what the story may be.” A painting that raises questions, she suggested, can be just as powerful as one that answers them.
Her Advice to Artists Entering Competitions
Groesser had one practical note that every entering artist should take to heart: photograph your work properly. In focus, correctly oriented, cropped to the image alone — no frames, no carpet, no car bumpers. “Remember,” she said, “the jurors and judges can only judge what they see in the photo you submit.”
And if your painting isn’t accepted? Enter it somewhere else. “There are countless examples of master level artists who are rejected from one show only to win awards in another with the same painting. You never know if you don’t try.”
The PleinAir Salon is open every month, judged by master artists, and ready for your best work — because as Debra Joy Groesser puts it, you never know if you don’t try.
