The entry jurist, who selects which artists will contend in the National Competition, is Peter Trippi. Mr. Trippi is editor of Fine Art Connoisseur, a bimonthly magazine that serves collectors of historical and contemporary representational painting, sculpture, drawings, and prints. He is also president of Projects in 19th-Century Art, Inc., the firm he established to pursue a range of research, writing, and curating opportunities.

Trippi holds an MA from New York University in Visual Arts Administration, as well as an MA in Art History from the Courtauld Institute of Art, London. As director of New York’s Dahesh Museum of Art, Trippi guided renovation of the former IBM Gallery and the presentation of nine exhibitions of 19th-century European art. In 2002, Phaidon Press published Trippi’s 250-page monograph J W Waterhouse, which reassesses the Victorian painter and Royal Academician best known for his Lady of Shalott at Tate Britain. Trippi went on to guest-curate the Waterhouse retrospective that appeared at the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands, London’s Royal Academy of Arts, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

The deadline to enter the Plein Air–Easton! National Competition is March 8, 2013. Competition Artists will be announced March 29, 2013.

Donald Demers 2012-2013.JPG

Donald Demers from Eliot, Maine, returns in July 2013 as awards judge, after serving as the entry jurist in 2012. The awards judge selects the winning paintings in the Plein Air–Easton! National Competition (announced at the Preview Party on Friday, July 19, 2013) and in the Quick Draw Competition (held Saturday, July 20, 2013). Mr. Demers is one of the finest marine and landscape painters in America. The exemplary level of his paintings has placed them in some of the most prestigious public and private collections in the country. Demers is a highly sought-after instructor; his teaching has taken him around the United States and Europe. His work as an illustrator has been honored four times in the annual exhibition of the Society of Illustrators. Demers’ marine paintings have garnered him a record 21 awards at the Mystic International Marine Exhibition, including the prestigious Rudolph J. Schaefer Award. He has received awards for his landscape painting from the Joan Irving Museum in Irvine, California, the Laguna Plein Air Invitational, and the Guild of Boston Artists. Demers is a Fellow of the American Society of Marine Artists, an elected member of the Guild of Boston Artists, a Signature Member of the Plein Air Painters of America, an elected member of the Salmagundi Club, and an elected member of the California Art Club.

Demers was born in 1956, in the small, rural community of Lunenburg, Massachusetts. His interest in painting maritime subjects began while spending his summers on the coast of Maine near Boothbay Harbor. He attended the School of the Worcester Art Museum and the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. Demers’ maritime experience came about as a crewmember aboard many traditional sailing vessels including schooners and square-riggers. He continues to be an avid sailor. Plein Air–Easton! is a project of the Avalon Foundation. The Academy Art Museum is the accredited museum venue for the competition exhibit. The event is supported by the Talbot County Arts Council, along with corporate and individual donors. Donations from Friends of Plein Air–Easton! support the event while promoting conservation and tourism through the arts and a distinct sense of place. Strong community support and sponsorships have helped make Plein Air–Easton! one of Easton's largest events and the premier plein air festival in the country.

For more information, artists prospectus, galleries, and itineraries, visit www.pleinaireaston.com

or call 410.822.7297.