Please help us congratulate James Fleeson for winning Overall First Place in the January 2026 PleinAir Salon, judged by George Billis of George Billis Galleries.
Billis chose Fleeson’s 12×24-inch nocturne oil painting, “Dairy Bar” (shown above).
About the Winning Artist
Written by Benjamin Cominsky
It’s hard to imagine a first-grader challenging his classmates to drawing contests to see who can draw the best motorcycle, but this scene sets the stage of James Fleeson’s youth while giving foresight as to how his future would unfold. Art has always been a part of Fleeson’s life, so it only seems fitting that in the years immediately following those innocent childhood contests, and ever since, he has entered his artwork in shows. This lifelong competitive spirit may be part of an underlying force that pushes him to continue developing his art at a high level, wherein he constantly pushes his own boundaries and in turn challenges his personal artistic evolution.
Although he now lives in Lexington, Ohio, James was born just north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He grew up in Jackson, Michigan, where he attended the Jackson Area Career Center for Commercial Art while in high school. He was offered a full five-year scholarship to attend Lawrence Tech for a degree in Architecture but left after just one year to pursue a greater passion—a career in Computer Science, which eventually led him to the DC area.
Despite the shifts in his career paths, Fleeson has always created art and in many mediums including pencil, pastels, and watercolor, but he eventually decided he wanted to paint in oil to take advantage of the deep colors it provided. And after two years of researching the science of painting with oil, he did his first painting.
“Today oil is my main medium, and life is my subject,” James says. “I like to tell stories with my paintings, to shine a light on everyday scenes that people miss and show the beauty all around us. I once read, ‘An artist’s job is to document their life.’ I hope to live up to that statement by painting what isn’t seen.”
Connect with James Fleeson at cellarstudiosink.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.
