Winners of the tenth annual Frank Swift Chase Plein Air Nantucket awards have been chosen by The Artists Association of Nantucket (AAN).
A huge proponent of en plein air painting, Frank Swift Chase taught outdoor classes starting in 1920 through the early 1950s, and the core of his regular students became the founders of the AAN. In this spirit, AAN hosted the tenth annual Plein Air Nantucket Festival with a special six-week run, May 11 to June 16, and the works painted over that time are currently displayed on the gallery’s second-floor “Wet Walls,” and will remain hanging through Monday, June 28.
AAN’s 2021 Juror was award-winning architectural illustrator Frank Costantino, who is also the founder of an international illustration group, the American Society of Architectural Illustrators.
1st Place: Jocelyn Sandor Urban: Beached
“Powerful formatting of an archetypal subject, with deft depiction of reflection and water surface; together with the contrast of a solid object with a soft and watery surface. Plus, a beautiful control of limited palette.”
2nd Place: Meghan Weeks: Sunset Hill
“A strong layering of shapes and depth of perspective within a strident minimalist palette. Very graphic and engaging.”
3rd Place: Robert Miklos: On Rocks ‘n Sand
“A dynamic composition of Brant Point with a limited, controlled palette and contrasting linear shapes. Effective accents of a warm roof color and cool ocean horizon.”
Honorable Mentions:
Ellen Metzger O’Shea: Distant House
Elle Foley: Off Orange
The work will remain on display and for sale on the “Wet Walls” through Monday, June 28, side-by-side with the Blue Periods exhibition in the Cecelia Joyce & Seward Johnson Gallery, 19 Washington Street, a stone’s throw from Main Street in the heart of Nantucket’s Cultural District. Open Monday – Saturday, 10 A.M. – 5 P.M. Closed 2-2:30.