Please help us congratulate Deborah Tilby for winning Overall First Place in the November 2025 PleinAir Salon, judged by Master Artist William A. Schneider.
“Even at a very young age, I would be noticing light and shadow, texture and color, but almost without realizing I was doing it,” Deborah says. “I don’t know where the need to try to paint those observations comes from but it is what has motivated me all my life.”
And it shows. William had this to say about her winning work:
“Whenever jurying a show, I don’t focus on subject matter but rather on the five basics of painting: shapes (drawing), values, color temperature relationships, edges, and composition. This seascape is strong in all five.”
“The design was especially powerful; the lightest light of the wave splashing against the darkest dark of the rocks created a strong center of interest. The ‘arrow’ of dark rocks on the left, pointing to the center of interest, reinforced the composition. The edge treatment is also outstanding, ranging from the softness of the foam and spray (even when shrunken down to thumbnail size) to the razor-sharp edges on the rocks.”
In addition to winning first place, Deborah won in two additional categories in this round of the PleinAir Salon: Best Animals & Birds, and Best Floral.
“When I paint, it is my intention to be relatively faithful to the color and light that I see all around me while experimenting and playing with the paint application. I would like my brush and knife handling to be as interesting as the subject; to have the mark making and the color working together to be the life and energy of the work… at least, that is my goal! Accomplishing that goal is always difficult but also fascinating, and really fulfilling. It keeps me painting almost daily!
“Although I did a lot of drawing in my early teens, I was eighteen when I first tried painting. After two small oils, I did my first watercolor and I was hooked. I fell in love with watercolor and it was my medium for a very long time. I now work predominantly in oil, which I thoroughly enjoy but if there were more hours in the day I would paint in oil, watercolor, and gouache and explore sculpting and printmaking, etc.”
“I am Canadian but at age twenty-three I moved to England where I lived for fourteen years. It was there that I fell in love with the pastoral landscape and villages of England and Europe which were the subject of my watercolors at that time. I still miss it! I have been back on the west coast of British Columbia for years now and although I am still attracted to street scenes, I really enjoy painting the boats, waves and marinas that are all around me.”
Connect with Deborah Tilby at www.deborahtilby.com.
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 PleinAir® Salon 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.
View more artist and collector profiles here at FineArtConnoisseur.com.
