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CANADA PAINTS PLEIN AIR INC
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Winners Announced at Inaugural Canada Paints Plein Air Competition

8/10/2025

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Artists bring Glennfield Park in Fish Creek Provincial Park to life in open-air painting challenge

Calgary, AB – Under sunny summer skies, the first-ever Canada Paints Plein Air Competition transformed Glennfield Park in Fish Creek Provincial Park into an open-air art gallery on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025. More than 50 artists set up their easels across the park, capturing the landscape in real time as part of a four-hour timed painting challenge.

At the end of the day, the Canada Paints Plein Air team was proud to announce the winners:

Top Prize Winner: David Shkolny for Gerry 
Second Place: Cheryl Peddie, for In the Light
Third Place: Louise Lacey-Rokosh, for Leaning into the Greens

The competition also recognized Wildcard Award Winners, selected from artists outside the top the eight finalists:
  • Lisa Ramer, top Wild Card Winner
  • Gwen Day, Honourable Mention
  • Samantha Williams-Chapelsky, Honourable Mention
  • Sebastian Fox, Honourable Mention
  • Jose Ortiz, Honourable Mention

“Today’s event celebrated not just the incredible talent of our artists, but the beauty of painting in the open air,” said Victoria Zyluk, President of Canada Paints Plein Air. “It was inspiring to see artists of all levels sharing their vision with the public and each other. We are especially grateful to our volunteers, judges, and sponsors who made this inaugural event possible.”

The competition brought together artists, art lovers, and park visitors for a day of creativity. Following the judging, attendees enjoyed an Art Show & Sale in the Aspen Shelter, where they could meet the artists and purchase original works created that very day.

We would like to thank our sponsors for their generous support, especially for our grand prize – $1,000 — which was sponsored by a Friend of Canada Paints Plein Air. 

Other generous sponsors to thank include BVR Historical Society, Swinton’s Art Supply, Bow Valley Ranche Restaurant, Tim Horton’s, Safeway, Sammy’s Pizza, Lifemark Physiotherapy/Massage, Fountain Tire Midnapore, and Kelly Curliss.

The organization plans to make the plein air competition an annual tradition, encouraging both professional and emerging artists to take part. Future details and announcements will be posted at https://www.canadapaintspleinair.com/ 

About Canada Paints Plein Air
Canada Paints Plein Air is a community-led arts initiative dedicated to celebrating and promoting plein air painting – the practice of creating art outdoors. Through events and competitions, the organization fosters artistic growth and builds connections between artists and the public.
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Finalists announced for Canada Paints Plein Air Competition 2025

7/9/2025

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Calgary, AB (June 30, 2025) – Eight standout artists have been named finalists in the inaugural Canada Paints Plein Air landscape painting competition, set to take place Saturday, Aug. 9 in Calgary’s Fish Creek Provincial Park.

Hosted by Canada Paints Plein Air, the competition celebrates the art of outdoor painting — known as plein air — by inviting artists to leave the studio behind and work directly from nature. The event is proudly sponsored by the Bow Valley Ranche Historical Society and Swinton’s Art Supply.

“We’re thrilled that so many artists are up for the challenge. For our first year, we are blown away by the quality of submissions,” said Canada Paints Plein Air President Victoria Zyluk. “This really shows how plein air artists are growing in number and we’re pleased to bring everybody together to do what they love.”

Finalists in this year’s competition are:
Andrew Bellavie
Alice Helwig
Louise Lacey-Rokosh
Gerry Mulhall
Cheryl Peddie
Stephen Purdy
Shirley Rayner
David Shkolny

In addition to the juried finalists, all applicants not selected are invited to participate as wildcard entrants, with a chance to win on-site. The wildcard winner will receive giveaways and automatic entry into a future competition.

Cash prizes will be awarded to three finalists at the end of the live painting event:
 1st Place: $1,000
 2nd Place: $500
 3rd Place: $250
Winners will be selected by a panel of judges and announced following the close of the competition.
The exact event location within Fish Creek Provincial Park will be announced later this summer, along with details on parking, amenities, and visitor tips.

About Canada Paints Plein Air
Calgary-based Canada Paints aims to foster creativity, community, and appreciation for the natural world through the celebration of plein air painting. We are a group of artists, instructors and arts supporters motivated to create community through art appreciation and supporting the tradition of open air landscape painting by immersing artists in the great outdoors.
For the latest updates, visit www.canadapaintspleinair.com.
For media inquiries or interview requests, contact [email protected].

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Canada Paints Plein Air announces its first Painting Competition with cash prizes

2/13/2025

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Calgary, AB (Feb. 13, 2025) - A new landscape painting competition organized by Canada Paints Plein Air is calling to artists for a one-day summertime event situated in Calgary’s picturesque Fish Creek Provincial Park.

Applications are open now for Canada Paints Plein Air Competition being held Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025. Canada Paints Plein Air is dedicated to supporting the tradition of open air landscape painting by immersing artists in the great outdoors. The plein air competition is sponsored by Bow Valley Ranche Historical Society and Swinton’s Art Supply.

“The tradition of trying to capture the landscape in a single sitting is a remarkable challenge. We’re giving artists the opportunity to leave the studio behind and set easels down on the natural land. It’s a practice worth preserving and sharing with a like-minded community,” said Canada Paints Plein Air group member Ray Swirsky.
The competition’s entry fee is $35 and applications close May 31st, 2025.

From those applications, a total of eight artists will be juried into the competition. Artists who apply and are not juried into the competition will be invited to attend the event and paint with a chance to win as a wildcard or longshot entry. The winner is eligible for giveways and will be entered automatically into future competition.

Cash prizes will be awarded to winners of first place ($1,000), second place ($500) and third place ($250). Prize winners will be announced by a panel of judges following the close of the live painting event.

The event location within Fish Creek Park will be announced this summer. Watch for updates on parking, amenities, and tips.

To submit your application before April 30, visit www.canadapaintspleinair.com
To keep up-to-date on competition news, please visit www.canadapaintspleinair.com
To request media interviews, please contact [email protected]
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Picture



Canada Paints Plein Air Inc in collaboration with 

Bow Valley Ranche Historical Society 

​&

Swinton's Art Supplies

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