Hello from PACE in the stunning Great Smoky Mountains! This week, we’re bringing you a few favorite moments from the 11th Annual Plein Air Convention & Expo, held at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort in North Carolina. The excitement has been building for weeks up to this moment, with hundreds of painters joining us from all over the world for a week of demonstrations, paint-outs, parties, and more.
This year, the Opening Ceremony included a special Lifetime Achievement Award presentation for Kenn Backhaus, who is a Signature Artist Member of the California Art Club, a Master Signature Member of both the Oil Painters of America and the American Impressionist Society, a Signature member of the Plein Air Painters of America. He also served as President of the Plein Air Painters of America.
Kenn led a workshop on the Main Stage of PACE as well, where he explained that when he’s almost finished with a painting, he puts it into a frame to judge how it will affect the presentation of the painting and to help him see what may need further development.
We also welcomed student painters who came on scholarship, and Eric announced that next year we plan to bring 100 students under the age of 25 to PACE, investing $100,000 to support the next generation of plein air painters.
In a much-anticipated segment, we also announced the winners of this year’s PleinAir Salon, which had nearly 11,000 entries from almost 3,000 artists from 73 countries. The top prizes went to Camille Przewodek (Grand Prize, $15,000 cash and the cover of PleinAir™ Magazine); Steven Walker (Second Place, $3,000); and Charles Newman (Third Place, $1,500).
We wish you were here! Stay tuned for when we announce the location for next year’s PACE, and reserve your spot ASAP: PleinAirConvention.com.
And, read the full daily highlights from the Plein Air Convention & Expo at OutdoorPainter.com.
