Please help us congratulate Fernando Micheli for winning Overall First Place in the December 2025 PleinAir Salon, judged by Master Artist Debra Joy Groesser.
“As I was reviewing the entries, this piece grabbed my attention immediately,” Debra said. “It reminded me of some of Claude Monet’s impressionist paintings of the cliffs at Etretat. The composition is simple and powerful. The texture of the rocks, the reflected light and the atmospheric perspective are spot on. 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. This painting is an impressionistic delight for the senses – absolutely stunning!”
Fernando Micheli is a long time resident of Laguna Beach, California and a member of LPAPA Laguna Plein Air Painter’s Association. He was born in Fiano, near Lucca, Italy and immigrated to the United States with family in 1955. After High School in Watsonville, California, he decided to pursue schooling in Pinerolo (Piedmont), Pietrasanta, Florence and Lucca (Tuscany) for two years, which not only improved his fluency in Italian, but allowed him the time to travel and attain the proficiency needed to apply to the University of Florence in Art and Architecture.
After much thought, he eventually longed to return to San Francisco and family and pursue a design oriented profession graduating from the University of California at Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design in Landscape Architecture. After graduating with a BA in Environmental Design, he began a successful career as a Landscape Architect in Costa Mesa and Laguna Beach, which lasted over 36 years.
Desiring a change and anticipating his retirement, he decided to try oil painting in 2013 on a whin. It was a life changing decision; one that he believes brought him back to his longing to be an artist. What attracts Fernando to painting is the immediacy of plein air painting.
“One not only needs to capture the feeling of the subject, but also the essence of light and color as it bounces, reflects and scatters on the physical world,” he says. “Painting is truly seeing more intensely than you can possibly hope to see. Painting is a lifelong pursuit, one that requires always honing and learning new skills in order to build a vocabulary that just doesn’t reproduce reality, but can capture the emotional essence of nature. I focus on the immediacy of plein air painting and representational art, capturing the beauty of Southern California as well as traveling to destinations nationally and abroad.”
Fernando maintains a Gallery/Studio in Laguna Beach, California. Learn more about his work at fernandomicheli.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.
