We’d like to congratulate Bill Farnsworth for winning Overall First Place in the February 2024 PleinAir Salon, judged by Darrell Beauchamp, Executive Director of the Western Art Museum.
“I chose ‘Looking East’ because it is both compositionally well done and the palette and subject matter appealed to me,” Beauchamp said. “It is atmospheric, well lit, and evokes a sense of place and peacefulness.”
February 2024 PleinAir Salon Top 3 Winners
1st Place Overall: “Looking East”
“I chose ‘Looking East’ because it is both compositionally well done and the palette and subject matter appealed to me. It is atmospheric, well lit, and evokes a sense of place and peacefulness.”
“As an Illustrator for more than thirty years, I have told many stories with my paintings that have helped me in my cross-over to Gallery work,” Farnsworth says in his Artist Statement. “Every day life has a story no matter how small and deserves telling if it has the right light. The light is what makes something very special or just forgettable. Cool overcast light can have a beautiful soft edge look, whereas sunny warm light can create interesting patterns and color. In order to get this on canvas and convey it honestly to the viewer, an artist must have the skills of visual language. Having the technical skill will give them the ability to express. If you travel to another country and don’t know the language, no one will understand you. This goes for art as well. A painting with bad values, shapes, and edges will not convey to the viewer how the artist feels about the subject. My illustration work over the years has been the best training to put a picture together. Tight deadlines and being asked to paint everything under the sun was a great motivator to be resourceful.
“So today the learning process continues, and with it comes little steps of improvement. For me, this is what makes painting so rewarding and fun. Moments in life pass by us all the time and if we can capture the great ones honestly in paint and canvas then maybe it will make our lives better.”
2nd Place Overall: “Fall Tilling”
“My second choice is a subject matter that is often ignored and it is very well painted. It is masterfully composed, showing migrant workers in the background working a field while the two main subjects, one at rest with fruit in hand and the other pausing work to talk on a cell phone, [perhaps] causes the viewer to wonder why they have stopped work while the others continued.”
3rd Place Overall: “Port Clyde Co-Op Cove”
“My third painting was selected because of its atmospheric qualities, its depth, and the overall execution and mastery of the watercolor medium.”
About the PleinAir Salon:
In the spirit of the French Salon created by the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, this annual online art competition, with 11 monthly cycles, leading to the annual Salon Grand Prize winners, is designed to stimulate artistic growth through competition. The competition rewards artists with $50,000 in cash prizes and exposure of their work, with the winning painting featured on the cover of PleinAir® Magazine.
Winners in each monthly competition may receive recognition and exposure through PleinAir Magazine’s print magazine, e-newsletters, websites, and social media. Winners of each competition will also be entered into the annual competition. The Annual Awards will be presented live at the next Plein Air Convention & Expo.
The next round of the PleinAir Salon has begun so hurry, as this competition ends on the last day of the month. Enter your best art in the PleinAir Salon here.
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