2023 Competition
2023 Selected Artists
Congratulations to the selected artists for the 2023 Shadows-on-the-Teche Plein Air Painting Competition! Follow the event’s Facebook Page to learn more about this year’s artists.
Kari Ganoung Ruiz | Interlaken, NY
Phil Sandusky | New Orleans, LA
Richard R. Sneary | Kansas City, MO
2023 Competition Judge
Dawn Whitelaw
Dawn Whitelaw is one of the artists in residence at On Track Studios in Franklin, Tennessee. The opportunity to paint en plein air with her artist colleagues adds richness and honesty to her studio work. Most of her formal instruction came from a long-term mentorship with New York painter Everett Raymond Kinstler.
Whitelaw is currently on the faculty of the Portrait Society of America, where she holds the office of Vice Chairman. She is a frequent instructor for Plein Air South and the Plein Air Convention. For over 25 years, she taught painting as an adjunct instructor at David Lipscomb University, and he continues to teach throughout the country by conducting workshops in oil painting principles and drawing. Whitelaw received 2nd place awards in the Door County Plein Air Festival in both 2014 and 2015. In recent years, she has won awards in The Olmsted Plein Air Invitational, the Piedmont Plein Air Paint Out, and in Plein Air Richmond.
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In 2012, 2013, and 2015, Plein Air Magazine included Whitelaw’s work in feature articles. She was honored by The American Impressionist Society in 2016 when she was elected to Master status. Whitelaw was one of ten American women artists invited to exhibit in “Inspiring Figures” at the Butler Institute of American Art in 2010. She recently had a painting accepted into the permanent collection of the Rahr-West Art Museum.
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ARTIST STATEMENT
I paint in response to something that “catches my eye.” I am looking for the moment when the light, atmosphere, or viewpoint displays the commonplace in an uncommonly interesting way. I try to capture this moment on canvas. The process of painting, whether I am painting a portrait in my studio or painting in a field at dusk, is always exciting and challenging. As a painter, I am always a student, eager to learn more about my craft so I can speak more eloquently in paint. My paintings, if nothing else, are an honest, emotional statement of what I see. Although my aesthetics are linked to the painters at the turn of the last century, I feel that I am a modern artist. What could be more modern than to paint in response to the world I live in?
To learn more about Dawn Whitelaw and see more of her work, visit her website and follow him on Instagram and Facebook.
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Interested in helping to make Shadows Plein Air a success? We have lots of opportunities!
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Give suggestions on interesting places for our artists to paint
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Host an artist throughout competition week
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Sponsor/provide lunch for artists one day during the week
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Sponsor an award
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Contact us at Shadows@ShadowsOnTheTeche.org or (337) 369-6446 if you're interested!