September 2025 Awards

The awards for the September 2025 PleinAir Salon Art Competition were announced on October 30th. The selections were made by judge, Abigail McBride, Director of McBride Gallery. The overall and category winners will now be included in the judging for the 15th Annual PleinAir Salon Competition being awarded in May 2026.

Barbara Ortiz, Nature’s Rhythm
Pastel, 20×16 in.

“This piece gave me an immediate and visceral sense of place. It pulled me to specific memories of being on a beach with cold water swirling around my ankles looking out at the view. It has a beautiful outdoor light effect. But what sealed it for me is how the composition leads you back to the distance in an entertaining ride of swirls until you reach the ladder of lines: wave and land. Then a little red rocket of a light house launches you up into the sky and drops you right back down on the shore.”

Jason Sacran, February Thaw
Oil, 18×24 in.

“Some paintings read well up close and others from a distance. This one caught me from every way of looking at it, including every level of squinting. And wow, what dynamic light quality; they elevated what might have been an ordinary scene to a level of scintillating beauty. It’s warm light on a cold day painted with excellent shape design.”

Christine Code (Canada), A Hill Worth Climbing
Oil, 30×40 in.

“This painting stood out to me as a symphony of texture and edge quality. The luminosity of the blue sky and movement in the clouds looks effortlessly effective. It feels like those clouds are getting pushed by a high wind.”

Each category award winner is now entered into the Annual Competition. Judges will review all the winners from the 15th Annual PleinAir Salon, and we will award over $26,000 at the Annual Competition held in May 2026.

The category honorable mention recipients are eligible to re-enter their paintings into future competitions.

Each month all the entries are reviewed and scored by a judge. The paintings with the highest scores are juried in as the Finalists.