Finalists announced for Canada Paints Plein Air Competition 2025

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].