From Michele:

I am thrilled to share that 'Morning on the Rio Grande' is the Featured Artwork in Outdoor Painter for the month of January. I hope you have a chance to check it out!

From Article:

Best in Show. Taos Plein Air 2021, PAPNM, Wilder Nightingale Fine Art, Taos NM

Upon seeing Morning on the Rio Grande, Bill Gallen, Judge of Awards, shared his thoughts: “It was a dead give-away. The graphics are strong with an established light and shadow pattern that drew me into the painting from 50 feet away. The juxtaposition of the silhouetted shadow shape with the lit-up cliffs and foreground is powerful. The play of cool and warm colors in both the shadow and the light makes for a compelling composition, the variety of paint thickness adding interest.”

For full article, click here.

From Natasha:

"One more amazing thing to start this year! Thank you @ericrhoads for recognizing my painting in the #bestpainting2021 contest!"

"Well how about THAT! Thank you Eric Rhoads!

5 selected. Approximately 500 entered

#BestPainting2021 contest"

And here are the top three:

From Eric Rhoads, Publisher:

#BestPainting2021 WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Thank you for participating in the #BestPainting2021 Contest! We had around 500 entries - WOW! It was so fun to see the many beautiful pieces of art that you created last year. Thank you for sharing them.

Here are the top three winners, each of whom will receive three art videos of their choice from Streamline Art Video:

“Atlantic Wild” soft pastel on Sennelier Le Carte by Jackie Daly - Oil Painter

“Cascade” oil on oil primed linen panel by Diane Reeves

"In Vino Veritas" oil on canvas by lucianoneves_art

Because there were so many wonderful entries, I also decided to have 2 "honorable mentions" and give them each a $50 gift card to Streamline Art (Now PaintTube):

“Through the Stillness” oil on panel painted with only a palette knife by Melanie Levitt

"Sticks and Stones" oil by Natasha Isenhour

Congratulations to the winners. I hope that 2022 brings many more paintings into your life!

LPAPA and PAPNM Artist Member, Lee MacLeod, is spotlighted in OutdoorPainter.

Click here: Lee MacLeod Outdoor Painter to see several beautiful paintings and to read an interview with Lee.

Natasha Isenhour, Past PAPNM President, had an opening at the Ventana Gallery at 400 Canyon Road, Dec 3, with 35 new works!! Natasha is represented by the gallery, one of the most prestigious in Santa Fe!!. 

https://www.natashaisenhour.com

Visit the Ventana Gallery website and click on the interview with Wolfgang and Natasha at the top (as of Dec 2021). Wonderful descriptions of what inspired her to paint each piece and what made each subject irresistible:

https://www.ventanafineart.com

Hi Folks, I'm pretty excited to find out "Plein Air Magazine" featured my painting "Berkshire Barn 9x12" along with a corresponding article for the front cover of the new Dec/Jan issue. Many thanks to Plein Air Magazine and writer Bob Bahr for penning the article!

From the Bridge

Barbara: ""From the Bridge" is featured in OutdoorPainter.com this month- which is a real honor. I have included some of my thoughts about what this painting means to me, and the deep symbolism of bridges. Hope you enjoy the article! Just click on the link below [sic] to read the article."

https://www.outdoorpainter.com/featured-artwork-barbara-coleman-3/?fbclid=IwAR1MKRRTO4Oq95UjQD8EIIyc3EKaEnioy1XT4KseclsBgz62AoCZwPbEIsY 

Peggy Trigg, Windy Point, oil, 36 x 36.

Meet 10 women who are making their marks: 

Click here for full list and description in the Southwest Art  Magazine.

Interview/excerpt with PAPNM's Signature Member, Peggy Trigg:

Where do you live and work? Questa, NM, a village just north of Taos. I create my artwork mostly outside in the local area.

What are your favorite subjects to depict? The landscape. I was raised in the country in northern New Mexico and have a deep love for it. My favorite things to paint include the Rio Grande Gorge and high-desert sage.

How would you describe your style? I am an impressionistic painter, sometimes leaning a little toward expressionism. I paint fast and loose using a large brush or a painting spatula. I love design, so I focus a lot on shape, color, texture, and line and not so much on the actual representation of a scene.

Where did you study art? I started my art schooling in Austin, TX, and finished up my formal education at the University of New Mexico.

What is your proudest art accomplishment? I think my proudest accomplishment is that I have followed my dream. I have been creating art most of my life and am represented by four galleries. I also have six pieces in public art collections, including one in Sasebo, Japan.

When you’re not creating art, what else do you enjoy doing? I love where I live, which is right next to the Carson National Forest. I enjoy being outside hiking, working in the yard, or playing with my pets.

What galleries represent your work? Wilder Nightingale Fine Art, Taos, NM; La Mesa of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM; Romero Street Gallery, Albuquerque, NM; Jezebel Gallery, Madrid, NM; www.peggytrigg.com.

It's always good to see how members transitioned from their previous life to plein air painting.  Jack was recently given a Hall of Fame inductee spotlight in the magazine of the Association of Energy Engineers. Please read the attached: pages 17 - 19.

The article includes: 

You’re retired, but are you still working? After four decades, I still love the work. So I find time to serve on two Corporate Boards of energy companies. But now I can spend more time on an old passion – Plein Air oil painting. My path to this moment is atypical for either a CEM or a Plein Air Painter. My profound appreciation for our planet gave me the conviction for professional success and now drives my passion for painting.

and

Has your lifelong career impacted your creativity in retirement? The passion for preserving resources, and the environment, is not something you turn off. Beginning painting again helps me continue to put a spotlight on that passion. My goal is to create images that reflect the beauty of our environment, my love of mountain landscapes, and hopefully tug at the viewer’s heartstrings just a little bit. I hope my paintings motivate viewers to value and question the environment and energy consumption behavior. If that is the case, I may continue to positively impact the planet in a small way, just as I did as an AEE member. 

https://www.aeecenter.org/sites/default/files/resource-attachments/AEE-Magazine-Sept2021-Digital.pdf

Congratulations to PAPNM Master Signature Member, Jane Hunt

"I have exciting news to share!! Honored to learn that I'm among the fifteen most awarded artists in the US. For those of you on Instagram you can learn more @artdataintel....I've also shared their post below.

________

Repost: Jane Hunt is the twelfth most awarded artist across USA based art contests, over the last 13 years.

Hunt ranks: 1st at PleinAir Salon competing against 563 award winning artists and she has won multiple awards at American Impressionist Society, International ARC Salon, BoldBrush Art Contest, National Oil, Acrylic Painters’ Society and Oil Painters of America (where she holds the record for the most OPA awards won in a single year - 5 in 2018 -)"