Competition Results
Thirty juried artists painted en plein air (outdoors), in the 9th Annual Harford Plein Air Painting Festival, between July 1 and September 16. Congratulations to all of our award-winners and to all of our juried artists. Competition Judge Cynthia Rosen said it was "impossible" to narrow the field of beautiful, talented, and skilled work that was submitted. Out of nearly 130 paintings submitted, here are her choices.
FIRST PLACE
Light in August
oil on linen
painted on Red Bridge Road, Pylesville
Henry Coe
Light in August
oil on linen
painted on Red Bridge Road, Pylesville
Henry Coe
Second Place
Boat Line Up
watercolor
painted in Havre de Grace
Marita Hines
Boat Line Up
watercolor
painted in Havre de Grace
Marita Hines
Third Place
Evening Walk with Sunflowers
oil on canvas
painted in White Hall
Donna Long
Evening Walk with Sunflowers
oil on canvas
painted in White Hall
Donna Long
Best Use of Light
Friends School at Little Falls
oil on board, painted in Fallston
Kathleen Kotarba
Friends School at Little Falls
oil on board, painted in Fallston
Kathleen Kotarba
Best Painting of a House of Worship
Grace in Darlington
watercolor, painted in Darlington
Michael Kotarba
award sponsored by Knights of Columbus Bel Air Council No. 4714
Grace in Darlington
watercolor, painted in Darlington
Michael Kotarba
award sponsored by Knights of Columbus Bel Air Council No. 4714
Honorable Mention for Painting Inside Harford County
The Three Silos
pastel, painted in Street
Greg Johannesen
The Three Silos
pastel, painted in Street
Greg Johannesen
Honorable Mention for Painting Outside Harford County
Cosmos Tangle
oil, painted at Kridler Botanical Gardens, Homeworth, Ohio
Kathleen Gray Farthing
Cosmos Tangle
oil, painted at Kridler Botanical Gardens, Homeworth, Ohio
Kathleen Gray Farthing
Juror's Choice Awards
Holloway Lea by John Eiseman Garden Path by Michael Kotarba
Overhaul by Sandhya Sharma Nature's Song by Chris Rapa
Holloway Lea by John Eiseman Garden Path by Michael Kotarba
Overhaul by Sandhya Sharma Nature's Song by Chris Rapa
September 17, 2020 - Painting right down to yesterday's deadline of 6pm, photos of works-in-progress were coming in hot and heavy. Here are their unfinished works. Stay tuned for tonight's announcement of the award-winners. Roll your cursor over the image to see title and artist.
September 7, 2020 - Denise Matuk Kroupa was up really early to paint at what she calls a "sunrise peekaboo spot" on Rumsey Island in Joppatowne. Greg Johannesen of Port Republic, MD, visited Havre de Grace for a look at the almost 200-year old Concord Point Lighthouse.
September 5, 2020 - At the start of a sunny Labor Day weekend, David Finnell completed a watercolor of the ruins of a Thomas Jefferson-designed mansion in Barboursville, VA, and Denise Matuk-Kroupa covered Brooms Bloom in Bel Air and St. Ignatius in Hickory. Andrew Leitzer studied Churchville Presbyterian Church.
September 3, 2020 - Bruno Baran submitted "Life Saving Museum through Rain-Drenched Windshield" at Ocean City, MD. Stacey Sass painted at St. Michaels, and, across the Bay in Churchville, Ellie Tryon-Elgin painted the Christy farm.
August 31, 2020 - Marita Hines created a watercolor image of Grace Memorial Church in Darlington.
August 30, 2020 - Denise Matuk-Kroupa continued chronicling Harford County farms at High Point Hills farm in Forest Hill.
August 26, 2020 - Andrew Leitzer worked at Steppingstone Museum; Denise Matuk-Kroupa painted Edgely Grove Farm; and Mary Veiga captured the summer sky over Tilghman Island.
August 25, 2020 - Submitted for consideration are David Finnell's "Meadowcreek Morning," Denise Matuk-Kroupa's "Mountain Branch Hole #9," and Paul Santori's "St. Mary's Church."
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August 24, 2020 - All paintings shown on this page, whether or not they are entered for award consideration, are available for purchase, with 40% of painting sales benefitting the Maryland Center for the Arts. Here, Deborah Maklowski shows one of her entries, "Susquehanna Interlude," with and without a frame, and "Across Otter Point," framed.
August 23, 2020 - Cathy Cole painted this rustic scene in Davidsonville, while Denise Matuk-Kroupa worked in the mist to capture this barn on Hollingsworth Road in Joppa.
August 21, 2020 - Ellie Tryon Elgin finished up at Wilson's Farm Market, and Stacey Sass explored another view of Havre de Grace.
August 19-20, 2020 - Stacey Sass said, "What a beautiful day to paint outside!" She painted Havre de Grace's iconic Concord Point Light and the familiar view of the Amtrak and the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial (Route 40) bridges over the Susquehanna, while, nearby, Marita Hines painted a local marina. Bruno Baran titled his painting of a murder of crows roosting on a Fallston barn, "Murderers' Row."
August 18, 2020 - Our artists were covering Harford County from north to south: Deborah Maklowski painted at Fisherman's Park on the Susquehanna; Paul Santori painted the Liriodendron Mansion in Bel Air; and Claudia Brookes painted "The White Barn" in Fallston.
August 17, 2020 - Denise Matuk-Kroupa added to the entries for "Houses of Worship" with this rendering of historic St. George's Episcopal Church in Perryman, while across the county in Jarrettsville, Paul Santori painted a leafy scene. And Deborah Maklowski painted water at the Promenade in Havre de Grace and in Abingdon.
August 13, 2020 - Kathleen Farthing sent a very sunny greeting from Ohio. Closer to home, Ellie Tryon Elgin worked on local favorite Wilson's Farm Market in north Bel Air.
August 10, 2020 - Kathleen and Michael Kotarba spent their weekend painting in Whiteford. Kathleen explains, "On Saturday, August 8, Mike Kotarba began a painting of a barn in Whiteford, Maryland, continued painting the red barn on August 9, and completed it on August 10. Doing so, he was able to capture the light at the same time of day. There is a tranquil beauty in the most rural places of Harford County." She says that she, "began a painting in Whiteford, Maryland. The subject is the rolling landscape with cornfields. It has been a very good year for corn, and fun to paint it, as well." And fun to watch it come alive on canvas.
Also on August 10, Steve Rowlands painted a different red barn, in Joppa, and Paul Santori painted another leafy scene, this one in Rock Hall.
August 7, 2020 - Bruno Baran's work at a historic home on Bel Air Road.
August 5, 2020 - Bruno Baran working at St. Ignatius Church, Hickory and a farm in Street. Deborah Maklowski drove up to Havre de Grace to paint a bridge. Stacey Sass painted a marina view in St. Michael's.
August 3-7, 2020 - Henry Coe, first place winner of last year's Harford Plein Air Festival competition, worked near his home in Worcester County.
August 3, 2020 - Marita Hines painted a tractor in Millersville, PA, while Sandhya Sharma painted the old Bel Air Methodist church building on Main Street in Bel Air, and Bruno Baran texted us a sunny farm scene on Pleasantville Road in Fallston.
August 2, 2020 - Greg Johannesen explored Steppingstone Museum, while Sandhya Sharma painted a marina on Water St. in Havre de Grace.
Kathleen and Michael Kotarba returned to Grace Memorial Church where, as Kathleen reports, "...she more carefully observed the subtleties of light and shadow, and the architectural embellishments. There is so much to see!" Michael, she says, "made a final site visit...to capture the complexity of the beautiful slate roof." See their previous two workdays on these two paintings in entries on July 29 and July 30.
August 1, 2020 - Pamela Wilde painted the historic house at Steppingstone Museum in Havre de Grace. Greg Johannesen painted on Chesapeake Beach. Sandhya Sharma also painted a different view of the house at Steppingstone, then moved on to the Lockhouse.
July 31, 2020 - Sandhya Sharma found "Greens on a Grey Day" on Prospect Mill Road in Bel Air.
July 30, 2020 - Kathleen and Michael returned to Grace Memorial to continue working as Kathleen explains, "The changing color of this stone structure is intriguing as it changes with the shifting light."
July 29, 2020 - Kathleen and Michael Kotarba started two days of painting at Grace Memorial Episcopal Church in Darlington. Kathleen says, "The afternoon light is dramatic!"
July 28, 2020 - Ellie Tryon Elgin completed "Sunrise over the Susquehanna."
July 27, 2020 - Ellie Tryon Elgin says about "Sunrise over the Susquehanna," her work-in-progress, "This is the first day of this painting. The sun really rises fast. I know what I want and don't want to be distracted by the color and light changes that happened at the end." Kathleen Gray Farthing finds a little "Summer Splendor."
July 26, 2020 - On a sunny Sunday, Andrew Leitzer painted Mountain Christian Church in Joppa. Kathleen Gray Farthing sees that "All is Well" under a peaceful sunset. And Marita Hines found two spots on Beards Hill Road in Aberdeen.
July 25, 2020 - Our juried artists hail from the mid-Atlantic and beyond. Here, Jesse Hashagen of Bryn Mawr, PA, painted on the Susquehanna River, near the mouth of Deer Creek. Denise Matuk-Kroupa of Baltimore worked on painting the morning mist over Winters Run Golf Course on Tollgate Road, moving on to Fallston to paint West Wind Farm in the afternoon. [Note: The painting of Winters Run Golf Course has been sold.]
July 24, 2020 - Theresa Spadaro of Baltimore spent her morning in Susquehanna State Park, capturing the Rock Run Grist Mill and Rock Run waterfall. John Eiseman happened upon Barking Fox Farm on Thomas Run Road.
July 21, 2020 - John Eiseman braved the heat and humidity for this stunning scene in Churchville. [Note: The painting, titled "Harford Hills," has been sold.]
July 18, 2020 - Kathleen Gray Farthing submitted a floral view from Ohio, while Denise Matuk-Kroupa painted a colorful garden on Gordon Street in Bel Air. In Aberdeen, Ellie Tryon Elgin completed a view of Finnegan's Farm.
July 17, 2020 - Kathleen & Michael Kotarba of Baltimore painted on the site of the historic Little Falls Meetinghouse in Fallston. While Michael worked on the Meetinghouse, Kathleen worked on the Friends' Schoolhouse.
July 16, 2020 - Kathleen Gray Farthing painted a summer still-life.
Pamela Wilde and Ellie Tryon Elgin found interesting subjects on Stepney Road in Aberdeen.
July 15, 2020 - A busy day for our artists! Claudia Brookes of Monkton shows how artists build up layers on the canvas to convey what the eye sees at a glance with her painting from Beatty Road. Greg Johannesen of Port Republic, MD, found two other farms to paint, in Whiteford and in Street, and Denise Matuk-Kroupa of Baltimore found a shady spot on Bel Air's Williams Street. John Eiseman painted a marina in Havre de Grace and "Susquehanna Meet Chesapeake" in the morning and "Churchville Pasture" in the afternoon.
July 14, 2020 - Denise Matuk-Kroupa moved on to Havre de Grace to paint a morning marina scene, while David Finnell and Tom Ritchie captured a house and a field, respectively, at Jarrettsville's historic Rigdon Farm. Deborah Maklowski of Ellicott City painted at Fisherman's Park in Darlington by the Conowingo Dam, and Pamela Wilde worked in the churchyard at St. Mary's Church, Abingdon.
July 13, 2020 - Denise Matuk-Kroupa was up very early to capture the airfield at the Harford County Airport in Aldino. David Finnell found a shady spot at the Liriodendron Mansion in Bel Air. Kathleen Gray Farthing sent us a field in Ohio. Pamela Wilde painted a barn on Noble Road in Darlington.
July 12, 2020 - Cathy Cole of Annapolis and David Finnell of Charlottesville, VA, painted scenes of Harford County's 19th century heritage. Cathy painted at the Steppingstone Farm Museum, Havre de Grace, and David painted St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Abingdon.
July 11, 2020 - While Denise Matuk-Kroupa painted Otter Creek at Flying Point Park in Edgewood, Barbara Stepura painted Mattawoman Creek at Smallwood State Park in Charles County, and Sandhya Sharma found a colorful spot in Bethesda. Pamela Wilde had another look at that Amtrak Bridge, and Andrew Leitzer captured historic St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Hickory.
July 10, 2020 - Denise Matuk-Kroupa painted summer's vibrant colors.
July 9, 2020 - Painting en plein air changes what the artist sees throughout the day. Steve Rowlands of Bel Air was up at dawn to explore the Little Gunpowder River in Gunpowder Falls State Park.
July 8, 2020 - Several of our juried artists travel many miles to paint in the Festival, so we've made it easier for them at this challenging time. Competitors who live beyond Harford County may submit a maximum of two works painted outside of Harford for Honorable Mention award consideration. Kathleen Gray Farthing painted sunflowers at home in Ohio, before coming to Maryland to paint, while Marita Hines of Marietta, PA, had a shorter trip to Havre de Grace. And, Pamela Wilde of Abingdon, had the shortest trip of all, to the Liriodendron Mansion in Bel Air.
July 7, 2020 - On the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay, at Cambridge, John Eiseman painted a "Choptank River Sunrise," and, at the head of the Bay in Havre de Grace, Pamela Wilde completed her painting of the Amtrak Bridge over the Susquehanna River.
July 6, 2020 - Kathleen Kotarba of Baltimore captured an image of "Porch and Hydrangeas."
July 5, 2020 - Paintings of a single subject may take place over several days. Pamela Wilde started painting the Amtrak bridge in Havre de Grace.
July 4, 2020 - Cathy Cole painted in Havre de Grace at Susquehanna State Park, and Denise Matuk-Kroupa painted at Strawberry Hill Farm on Calvary Road, Bel Air.
July 3, 2020 - Denise Matuk-Kroupa painted at the Goedeke Farm in Fallston. Pamela Wilde of Abingdon created a portrait of the Spencer-Silver Mansion in Havre de Grace on the eve of Independence Day.
July 2, 2020 - Ellie Tryon Elgin completed her painting at Liriodendron, and Barbara Stepura painted at Faulkner, MD, near her home in Charles County. Competitors who live beyond Harford County may submit a maximum of two works painted outside of Harford for Honorable Mention award consideration.
July 1, 2020 - The 6th Annual Harford Plein Air Painting Festival began today. Denise Matuk-Kroupa painted at a farm north of Bel Air, and Ellie Tryon Elgin began a painting at Liriodendron Mansion in Bel Air.
