Perhaps one of Plein Air Easton’s most remarkable events is its Quick Draw (this year held on Saturday, July 22).  In this fast-paced skilled painting competition, any artist with $10 and ambition has 2 hours to turn a blank canvas into a completed painting and is eligible for prizes and potential sales.  The event has been known to have as many as 200 artists vying for any patch of shade to produce their best work surrounded by throngs of eager art collectors.  Everybody would admit that the scene is intensely exciting and there are many great plein air painters that find that scene terrifying. 

For those artists and for artists who want to give themselves a practice run at a painting that they might want to recreate at Saturday’s Quick Draw, Plein Air Easton has partnered with Chesapeake Fine Art Studio to ‘Rehearse Quick Draw’.  Artists will register and check in at the Avalon Theatre between 9am-10am on their designated day and then paint within the Quick Draw’s geographic bounds between 10am-12pm, without the crowd expected on Saturday.  Instructors from Chesapeake Fine Art Studio will visit with artists (by request) and provide feedback, guidance and offer encouragement throughout the painting time.  By 1:00pm the participating artists will gather in the air-conditioned Avalon to have their paintings judged for a series of cash and scholarship awards sponsored by Chesapeake Fine Art Studio. 

Space is limited for each class and will sell out. Register online TODAY.

*(All sessions limited to 40 students each day)

• July 19, 2017 Wednesday – Special session for students of CFAS only. Visit chesapeakefineartstudio.com to register for a weekly class and be eligible for this session.
• July 20, 2017 Thursday – $30/artist
• July 21, 2017 Friday - $30/artist

Awards:

• First Place: $150
• Second Place: $100
• Third Place: $50
• Honorable Mention (2): $50 – Scholarships to CFAS

After awards, the judge and CFAS instructors will be on hand to offer further coaching, feedback and support. 

Wednesday Judge: Ken Karlic

Originally from Chicago, Ken Karlic's earliest memories are of drawing, but it wasn't until he began to travel in his mid 20s that he started painting in watercolors. This began a three decades long refinement of his techniques, which continues today. Ken enjoys painting with a sense of urgency and passion that is more about capturing the essence rather than the specifics of any location. 

Ken is a founding partner of the Baltimore-area firm Splice Design Group, a weekly class instructor  at Chesapeake Fine Art Studio in Stevensville MD,  a member of the Mid-Atlantic Plein-Air Painters Association (MAPAPA),  a Signature Artist Member of Baltimore Watercolor Society and a Signature Artist Member of Noyes Museum of Art at Stockton University in New Jersey. 

kenkarlic.com

Thursday Judge: Rita Curtis

Artist Rita Curtis loves to paint fast and loose. “I want my paintings to look as though they were whipped out in a flash of inspiration. The truth is I work thoughtfully — designing, reworking, and simplifying so my work looks fresh.  I work mostly in the studio, but I also enjoy painting en plein air. “

Although an impressionist, her background is in classical painting. She studied with modern masters at the Art Student's League of New York, intellectual history at New York University, and literature and art in Perugia, Italy. Her illustrations are in World Health Organization manuals around the globe, and images and colors from travels to Africa and Asia suffuse many of her paintings. 

Her paintings have received growing recognition and awards in national competitions including The Artists magazine, Raymar Art, BoldBrush, and the Salmagundi Club. Her landscape awards include Artists' Choice in Paint Annapolis (Maryland) and Best of Show at the Solomons (Maryland) plein air festival. She was the featured Artist at the 28th Annual Oxford Fine Arts Fair. Her paintings are also included in the recently published book 100 Plein Air Painters of the Mid-Atlantic.

ritacurtisfineart.com

Friday Judge: Charlie Hunter

PAE2017 Competition Artist Charlie Hunter hails from Vermont. Says Charlie, “If I spoke art-speak, I suppose this is where one would throw in the paragraph about exploration, dialogue, hegemony, duality and so on. But I distrust academic-talk, finding it more excluding than inclusive, so let me just say that I believe contemporary representationalism can be just as exciting and dynamic as any other 'ism' in art. At some point the academy is going to be forced to accept the explosion of activity in a field it left for dead. I hope my work plays a role in where this genre heads in the next decades. My goal is to paint beautifully that which is not traditionally considered beautiful. Sorta like a less-grotesque Anselm Keifer in a better mood.” 

hunter-studio.com