PIPAF in ISOLATION
June 20 – 21 – Artists Paint, an Online Showcase on Social Media
June 22 – July 5 – Online Exhibition and Sale
June 28 – Awards Announcement – Online
Unfortunately, and due to the world wide pandemic we have had to cancel our historic approach to PIPAF for this year, to both protect the artists and the community.
The 2020 Artists juried into the event formerly known as Parrsboro International Plein Air Festival 2020 have all agreed to be a part of this wonderful new initiative. We will be asking them to paint “en plein air” from within their world of isolation, to reflect in their art the conditions and world that they are experiencing in this new world of COVID -19.
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The artists and the general public will be able to follow the activity and productivity of each artist online and in real time.
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The art work created will be exhibited on line and judged by master artist Tom Forrestall C.M., O.N.S., B.F.A., LLD, RCA.
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The art work will be for sale allowing you to collect a piece of history from all over North America at this time of change.
PETER ADAMS
Collingwood – Ontario
- Kingston Prize National Portrait Award Finalist, Kingston, Ontario, 2017
- Labverde Amazon Residency, Manaus, Brazil, 2017
- First Prize, Figureworks Exhibit, Ottawa, 2016
- Salt Spring National Art Prize Finalist, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, 2015
- Recipient of several Ontario Arts Council Grants, 2000-2018
“Much of my work has centred on human engagement with the landscape. I have long been interested in the realm in which human and natural worlds meet – both in harmony and in opposition. I am interested in questioning our ideas about what is landscape, where we go to seek beauty and where we go to get back to nature. I am interested in the duality between painting something that is often deemed unattractive but is also strangely beautiful.”
KIM AERTS
Prospect – Nova Scotia
I paint landscapes but beneath the surface I am exploring the relationship of the viewer to their natural environment.
THOMAS BUCCI
Washington, DC
- Plein Air Easton -Awarded Best Watercolor 2018
- Pennsylvania Watercolor Society’s 40th International Exhibition – Bronze Medal Winner 2018
- Exhibited at the American Watercolor Society 2017
- Salmagundi Club’s Annual Open Painting and Sculpture Exhibition – Thomas Moran Memorial Award 2017
“Often ideas come from something less complete; a glimpse of atmospheric effects, the way sunlight lands on a surface, or an element in a landscape.”
HENRY COE
Parkton – Maryland
I like to paint the lengthening shadows and lowering light that occur toward the end of day or the softer light of early morning. Ideally I want my work to have a sense of light traveling through air in space.
MICHAEL COMPTON
Cambridge – Massachusetts
- 2016 Best representation of architecture, Mountain Maryland Plein Air
- 2015 Best watercolor Boldbrush Painting Competition
- 2007 Marshall Woodside Joyce Memorial Award NE Watercolor Society
- Large scale mural commissioned by Cambridge Savings Bank and Harvard Square
- Numerous private and corporate collections including: Mckinsey & Co., Fidelity investments, Harvard Law School Putnam, and Mellon Bank
“From an early age painting has been a refuge. Art has guided me toward a personal vision that in maturity has only begun to reveal why painting pictures is and always has been so important to me. The mystery of painting is that it is false. The canvas is flat; only a two dimensional surface. Yet, in every great painting, that is, one born of conviction, the artist has been able to capture something universal, something that rings true.”
PRISCILLA COOTE
Big Pine Key, Florida
- Winner Second Place overall in Castine Plein Air 2019, and Third Place Overall in Parrsboro International Plein Air 2019, from among many top-ranked national plein air painters.
- 2017-19 Juried into: ASMA 17th National; Channel Is., CA Maritime Museum Natl.; Coos Bay OR Museum Natl.; Visual Arts Center’s 11th Biennial National Art Exhibition.
- Cover artist for the 2017 Paradise Paintout, Florida Keys.
- Featured in Fine Art Connoisseur, Southwest Art Magazine and Sail Magazine in 2016-17.
- Paintings shown on Netflix’ Bloodline and an episode of HGTV’s Island Hunters, 2017-18.
“I have been mesmerized by water my entire life”
MICHAEL DOUCET
Weymouth – Nova Scotia
The creative process for me is “I want to bring the outside in” so others can see what I see.
CAROL DOUGLAS
ROCKPORT, Maine
- Painted 10,000 miles across Alaska and Canada in 2016 from Anchorage to St. John, Newfoundland.
- Parrsboro Artist-In-Residence 2019
- Painted in Pategonia in March, 2020
- Teaches an annual watercolor workshop aboard historic schooner American Eagle
- Has participated in PIPAF since its inception.
“I find great peace in the natural world,“and I want to share that with others.”
ALEX EISENZOPF
Gloucester – Massachusetts
- Painting and drawing in Provence
- Fine art at Pratt
- Numerous book and magazine illustrations
- Countless all-nighters in commercial art
“What drives me is art with meaning- using my mind and will to either recreate something from life, or create something from nothing.”
MARJE FLETCHER
Smiths Falls – Ontario
- Member of Plein Air Ensemble and New York Plein Air Painters – a group of artists dedicated to painting outside…
- Participated in the Adirondack Plein Air Festival for a number of years
- Taken numerous plein air workshops with well-known Canadian and American plein air artists – most recently with British landscape artist David Curtis
- Member of the Merrickville Artist Guild (MAG) – participant in their annual studio tour
- Graduate – Graphic Design – Award of Merit for Excellence in Graphic Design – first year
“The connection to the earth heightens my sense of awareness of sight, scents and sounds. “
KATE GEORGALLAS
Antigonish – Nova Scotia
- Recently back from an annual visit to Cyprus painting the gorgeous colours, and textures of a Cyprus Spring.
- Awarded prizes at Parrsboro Plein Air 2018(quick draw), Points East Plein Aire PEI 2018/2019, and Paint the Past, King’s Landing, NB 2019.
- Was artist in residence at Sherbrooke village, June 2019, painting en plein air.
- To be a judge at the newly formed Antigonish Plein Aire event to take place in August of 2020 in my home town.
- Looking forward to two solo shows, highlighting my Plein air work at Visual Voice, Truro, Nova Scotia and the People’s Place in Antigonish in summer/fall 2020.
“The balancing of colour, design, and surface texture created by the act of painting are the elements that excite and inspire me, and keep me painting.”
SARA GRAY
Falmouth – Maine
- Juried into 2019 Castine Plein Air Festival and won an Honorable Mention
- Juried into 2019 Plein Air Brandywine Valley
- Cover Art for Tourist & Town monthly publication (Kennebunkport, ME) May 2019
- Commissioned by Falmouth Maine Land Trust to create a painting to be used as membership sticker and auctioned in yearly fundraising event
- Juried into The Barn Gallery Annual Open Show (Ogunquit, ME) and Bryan Memorial Gallery (Jefferson, VT) Land & Light & Water & Air Show, 3 years each with multiple sales.
What fascinates me after spending years of recording light with my camera is that I am now the creator of light in my paintings through the use of color and value.”
OLIVER HATTON
Middle LaHave – Nova Scotia
- 2nd place ‘Points East Plein Air Festival’ 2019
- 2nd place ‘A Brush with the Broads’ plein-air painting festival, Norfolk, England, 2015
- Solo exhibition in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, 2017
- Year on year improvement and enthusiasm!
“In painting, the most immediate rewards I’ve found come from three base things:The chance to share ideas, experiencing measurable self-improvement, and the meditative work process.”
CHANTAL JULIEN
SHERBROOKE, Quebec
- “Best in Show” in Parrsboro International Plein Air Festival, 2017
- The Shirl Smithson Memorial Scholarships, awarded by OPA, 2016
- SCA 1st awards of excellenceat the Leyton Gallery of Fine Art, St-John’s, Newfoundland, 2016
- Twice a excipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation grant.
”When I look at a landscape, an emotion arises, just waiting to be immortalized. Light becomes the trigger for the composition. I am looking primarily to produce an atmosphere to create an intense emotional dialogue with the viewer”.
ALEXANDER KOLTAKOV
Hubley – Nova Scotia
- 1st place in Fast Painting Competition
- Winding River art gallery, NS, Canada 2018
- Participated in PIPAF 2017,2018
- Participated in Paint Peggy’s Cove Plein air art festival 2017, 2018, 2019
- Participated in Paint Sea on Site – Lunenburg Plein Air art festival 2017, 2018, 2019
- Member of The Association of Atlantic Area Artists 2017 – 2020
“When I start a new art project, I become obsessed with it. I dream it, breathe it, live it until it’s done, and, even then, the idea doesn’t leave my mind, but flourishes and grows into the new creations, each ofthem has a part of my soul inside.”
DIANE LEIFHEIT
Paul Smiths – New York
- Artist in Residence at Parrsboro Creative for two weeks in September 2019 shared with Hurricane Dorian
- Juror for View Winter show 2019, Old Forge, NY
- Solo Exhibit “Speaking of Seasons” The Adirondack plein air and studio season. View, Old Forge, NY
- Honorable Mention, The Hyde
- Museum Plein Air Festival, Glens Falls, NY – juror, George Van Hook
- Painted in Asturias Spain with Mary Padgett PSA last June. What a beautiful country. Saw Velasquez at the Prado.
Leifheit’s medium of pastel allows her to construct a close interpretation of a particular landscape, but also exhibit the freedom to capture a mood in the work like misty mornings, swirling snowstorms or the atmosphere of a hot, humid day
WESLEY LOWE
Bridgewater – Nova Scotia
- It must be at least 40 years ago when I started first painting outdoors, that was before I had ever heard the term “en plein air”
- Painting outdoors has always been of great importance to my understanding of how atmosphere effects the objects I choose to paint.
- I began my art career as an illustrator in Toronto for publishers and advertising agencies, both in Canada and America.
- Much of my artistic development is self taught, though I did receive some basic training at the Ontario College of Art.
” I wish to lead the viewer’s eye with visual clues, hopefully they will experience a connection with what attracted me to the subject and they too will experience joy or delight. “
DAVID LUSSIER
Somersworth, NH
- Has participated in invitational and juried National Plein air events since 2004 starting with the Laguna Beach Plein Air Invitational.
- Won best of show and numerous other awards at major plein air events.
- Has taught National Plein air workshops since 1996.
- His paintings have been featured in 8 publications including Fine Art Connoisseur, American Artist Magazine and American Artist Workshop Magazine.
- Is an official U.S Open artist for the United States Golf Association.
“David is known for his sophisticated color sense, poetic brushwork and his ability to convey emotion in a painting. Composition, values, color, brushwork and edge control are all a part of his step-by-step approach.”
FRAN MANGINO
Ocean Ridge – Florida
- 2019 Shadows on the Teche; Art at the Arnold, Honorable Mention
- 2019 Ohio State Fair Plein Air Division, 1st Place; Paint Grand Traverse
- 2019 Kekionga Plein Air Competition, Grand Purchase Award
- 2019 Florida Watercolor Society Travel Show, Jerry Summers Memorial Award/Blick Art Materials Award II
- 2019 Bucks County Plein Air Festival, Quick Draw Honorable Mention
“Somewhere deep within me lies a need to express myself that can only be realized through my art. My paintings are realistic glimpses into how I view the world around me. The works are not illustrations but, are interpretations. I want the viewer to feel and see, what I feel and see.”
LAURA MARINEZ BIANCO
Marlboro – New York
- I have been painting in Plein Air festivals through the USA for the past decade
- Organizer and instructor of Plein Air Retreats in Italy and Cape Cod MA
- Outstanding Pastel Award Adirondack Plein Air Festival 2015
- Jurors Award National Plein Air Exhibit, Shirt Factory Gallery in Glens Falls, NY 2016
- Peoples Choice Quick Draw Award Harford County Plein Air Festival 2019
“As a plein air painter I am drawn to landscape and light, and the color and shapes that exist within it.”
ALISON MENKE
Clarksville – Maryland
Her approach emphasizes the importance of expressing a true sense of light and place while showcasing the rich qualities of oil paint and brushwork. Painting thick and thinking abstract design, she uses composition, texture, and vibrant color to move a viewer around her painting.
DEBBIE MUELLER
Durham – New Hampshire
- 2018 Winner of Artist’s Magazine Annual Art Competition in the Landscape division for artists with less than 6 years of painting experience
- 2019 Best Oil Painting Cape Cod Art Center “The Nationals”
- 2020 Accepted into National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society
- Best of America Small Works Show Annapolis, MD
- 2020 Accepted into Oil Painters of America (OPA) 29th National Exhibition Fredericksburg, TX
- 2019 Juried Artist. Castine Plein Air Festival
While I am drawn to the landscape in all its wardrobe, my heart sings when I can paint the dance between light and shadow.
CRISTA PISANO
Nyack, New York
The ability to experience light, value, color, and atmospheric changes within nature firsthand has been crucial in my development as a landscape painter. The unpredictability of light phenomenon during each outing is the most exciting part of each painting I produce.
JULIA SEELOS
Redwood City – California
- American Impressionist Society, Signature Member
- First Place, Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, Best of Plein Air
- Invited to the Celebration of Art plein air at the Grand Canyon, 5 times
- PAPO Award, Frank Bette Plein Air, Alameda, CA used on all advertising for 2020
- Artist to watch, Southwest Magazine 2013 and Landscape Feature, February 2014
“My love of nature started growing up in Kentucky in a time when kids could explore and spend hours outside. Collecting critters and rocks gave me specimens to draw. This passion has continued, blossoming into my desire to capture the beauty of the landscape. I attempt to capture the color and beauty of nature in my works, transporting the observer to these beautiful locations.”
RICHARD SNEARY
Kansas City – Missouri
- 2018 Missouri Valley Impressionist Society 7th Annual Juried Show, Best of Show
- En Plein Air Texas, 2014, 2018, & 2019, Best Architectural Award 2014, Award of Distinction 2018, Award of Distinction Mini Pearl 2019
- Shadows-on-the-Teche 2018 & 2019, 2nd Place 2018, Honorable Mention 2019
- Cape Ann Plein Air, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, Neptune Harvest Award 2016 & 2017, Best Watercolor 2018, Best Maritime 2019
- Plein Air Easton 2012, 2013, 2017, & 2019, Best Architecture 2012, Historic Preservation 2013, Best Use of Light & Honorable Mention 2017, Honorable Mention 2019
“I like painting old things, from nature or the built environment, that are aging and worn, but have character and a history that seems to say something to me. I look for the shapes and how they are defined by light, and try to represent the beauty I see.”
GAIL SUTHERLAND
Bedford – Nova Scotia
- Featured in The Art of Watercolour Magazine, 31st edition
- Won 3rd Place National in The International Watercolour Society of Canada, “150 Ways to Celebrate”
- Best Use of Light in Parrsboro International Plein Air Festival 2018
- Signature member of The Canadian Painters in Water Colour
“My inspiration comes from the variety and natural beauty of the Maritimes and the close relationship people have with this environment. Art and the act of its creation have provided me with numerous gifts and insights, which have enriched my life immeasurably. My hope is that by sharing my work and passion, it will do the same for others.”
ADAM TRAGAKIS
Antigonish, Nova Scotia
- Finalist in The Artist’s Magazine annual competition – 2014
- Studied under renowned painter Casey Baugh – 2015
- Received a Professional Development grant from Arts Nova Scotia to study under NY painter Alyssa Monks – 2016
- Winner Best Seascape Award – Parrsboro International Plein Air Festival 2017
Adam received his BFA from the University of British Columbia and worked as an assistant to a sculptor in Toronto before moving back to Nova Scotia. He teaches drawing and painting at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish.
DOUGLAS WILLIAMSON
Calgary – Alberta
- I started to devote some of my studio practice to plein air after connecting to renowned plein air painter and master of light, Brent Cotton.
- I love painting dramatic light – sunsets, water reflections, and pretty much anything that sparkles
- I use a very limited palette that Odd Nerdrum shared with me in which I am able to keep natural tonal harmonies found within black, white, red, yellow, with the odd hint of ultramarine blue.
- I am often found placing my easel in front of old cars, trucks, boats and other interesting manmade objects – this echos my passion for still life painting.
- I am very approachable when painting, and enjoy friendly chats about art, life, and beauty with others.
“The simple way light dissolves into darkness, the tension between contrasting colours, or the subtlety of an edge are but a few of the visual concepts that help me structure composition.”
ANN WILLSIE
LAKE COUNTRY, BRITISH COLUMBIA
- Achieved Federation of Canadian Artists “Associate Signature” status
- Received Honourable Mention at 2019 Parrsboro International Plein Air Festival
- Solo Show “Guardians of Eternity” Armstrong Art Gallery, June 2020 and Peachland Art Gallery September 2021
- Selected as one of four instructors at the Federation of Canadian Artists Plein Air Retreat, September 2020 at the Flying U Ranch, 70 Mile House, B.C.
- Bronze Medal at the Signature Medal Show at the Federation Gallery, Vancouver, B.C.
“Nothing compares to standing before my blank easel, brush in hand, sun on my back, looking out at a stunning river valley, or a majestic old tree, and trying to capture that image on my canvas “
