The PleinAir Salon $33,000 Art Competition is a monthly online competition consisting of 19 categories. We award over $33,000 each year for this competition. The Annual Grand Prize winner receives a check for $15,000 and is featured on the cover of PleinAir Magazine. We award an additional $6,500 to the annual winners and award $1,100 monthly to the top three winners of each competition as well as a People’s Choice Award. Each of the 23 monthly winners will be automatically entered into the Annual Competition. The annual awards are presented live at the Plein Air Convention & Expo each spring.

Because this competition is created by PleinAir magazine, which features not only plein air paintings, but also studio paintings, all types of paintings are eligible and do not need to have been completed in plein air. As we know, many studio paintings start with plein air sketches, and many plein air painters paint figures and still life. Our interest is in rewarding great paintings.

Annual Awards
$21,000 in CASH Awards
1st place
$15,000 cash prize plus the cover of PleinAir magazine!
2nd place
$3,000 cash prize plus a feature in the digital edition of PleinAir magazine
3rd place
$1,500 cash prize
Three finalists: $500 cash prize each — total $1,500
Plus, all winners will be showcased in PleinAir magazine!

Monthly Awards
$1,100 in Cash Awards EACH month
1st Place Overall
$500
2nd Place Overall
$300
3rd Place Overall
$200
People’s Choice
$100

Check out PleinAirSalon.com/Awards to see what else is offered to the winners