Congratulations to the winners of the May 2022 PleinAir Salon!

Karen Hewitt Hagan was the May 2022 PleinAir Salon judge where she was drawn to the plein air works of celebrated artists.

Read her thoughts on why she chose the 3 top winners below.

"The Edge" original oil by Robin Caspari | 10 x 12 in.

1st Place Overall

"I responded to [‘The Edge’] at first glance," said juror Karen Hagan. "It has a movement that’s very exciting, taking the eye around and around the painting. When I’m jurying a show, I don’t look at titles or even size. In this painting, I saw great composition and sense of place paired with varied brush work. I loved the depth of field and the foreground detail leading to the gray mistiness of the background. Mostly it’s the movement that the artist captured that got my eye! It’s an exciting painting, one I’d like to see every day in my home."

- Karen Hewitt Hagan

"There's a Story" original oil by Steven Walker | 18 x 18 in.

2nd Place Overall

"This one jumped out at me and initially I gave it an award within its category," Karen said. "But when I looked back through the entries, this one was such a stunning work and had such engaging composition and feeling that I had to move its award up. I liked the placement of the sunset and again the brushwork had such variety in hard edges and soft edges. It’s like a good song. So much to see, and unforgettable."

- Karen Hewitt Hagan

"Sunflowers and Sunlight, for Ukraine" original acrylic by Rick J. Delanti | 12 x 9 in.

3rd Place Overall

""This painting exuded so much joy when I saw it!" Karen said. "It was an immediate love affair with the loose ‘unfinishedness’ of it that made it perfect. Sunflowers can be hard to paint and often are overpainted with too much detail. This painting made me happy and I felt the artist’s confidence when they laid down the strokes."

- Karen Hewitt Hagan