Plein Air Rockies 2011 Festival & Competition Judges

Wm. Scott Jennings

Painting Competition Judge
The 1998 Arts for the Parks Show named Jennings as the Best of Show Gold Medal and Grand Prize Winner for his painting “Timeless Beauty”. The show receives approximately 2400 entries annually. In the 1994 Arts for the Parks Show, his painting “Sunset on Isis” was the region II winner, an award for the best painting of the southwest region of the United States. It was the recipient of a Silver Medal and reproduced as part of the 1994 National Park Stamp. The Grand Canyon National Park used Scott’s painting as the invitation image for the Arts for the Parks exhibit at the Canyon. Jennings’ work was in the top 100 show for five years in a row before retiring from the competition after his 1998 win.

Two of Jennings’ paintings have been used as cover art for books: A Roadside Guide to Rocky Mountain National Park and most recently, Physical Geology, a college textbook. In 1989, Scott participated in the first of several group shows in the major cities of Japan . His work consistently sold throughout the country. The 1988 festival celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act commissioned Jennings to produce a poster for the event. Scott spent a month as the guest artist of Rocky Mountain National Park and the first painter given the honor of ‘Artist in Residence’. The 1985 Wilderness Art Exhibit chose Jennings’ “The Elk Range” as the show poster for the event. Scott won three top awards at the 1984 New Mexico Professional Art Exhibit and the painting is now part of the collection at the New Mexico State Capitol in Santa Fe.

Notable collectors include Ford Motor Company, Christopher Forbes, William Shatner, Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell and Congressman David Dreier.

Professional Career Highlights
· Mr. Jennings won the Zion NP Foundation’s ‘Award of Excellence’ at the 2010 plein air invitational held at Zion National Park.
· Invited artist in the Modern Masters section of the “Grand Canyon Celebration of Art” show at the Grand Canyon National Park for 2010 and 2011.
· Invited artist in the “Quest for the West” show at the Eiteljorg Museum 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
· Invited artist in the national touring museum exhibit "From Sea to Shining Sea". The exhibit toured 13 museums across the United States over a three year period.
· The Award of Excellence for Master Signature Members in the 2005 Oil Painters of America National Show.
· His works were used as show posters for both the Telluride Plein Air 2004 and Sedona Plein Air 2005.
· Best of Show Gold Medal and Grand Prize Winner of the 1998 Arts For the Parks Show -. Jennings was in the Top 100 Arts for the Parks Show for 5 consecutive years from 1994 - 1998 before retiring from the competition after his 1998 win. He was the recipient of the Region II Silver Medal in 1994.
· Featured in the PBS Series The Artists Workshop painting a plein air demonstration in the fourth episode of the 2000 season.
· Commissioned to produce a 30x40 painting for the U. S. Capitol Building in Washington, DC.
· Winner of the Founder’s Award in the 2003 OPA National Show and the Masters Merit Award in 2004.
· Best of Show in the 1999 Impressionaire Invitational Show at the PGA West Country Club in La Quinta, CA and Judge’s Favorite Award at the 2001 Tucson Plein Air Show.
· Two books feature Jennings’ work as cover art: A Roadside Guide to Rocky Mountain National Park and Physical Geology, a college textbook.
· Invited artist in the Grand Canyon River Trip Show Painting down the Rapids at the Forbes Gallery in Manhattan, NY, January 2001.
· Invited artist in the Contemporary Artists Paint Yosemite and the Eastern Sierras at the Haggin Museum in Stockton, CA, October 2001.
· He has taught Plein Air Workshops for 11 years and is currently teaching classes through the Scottsdale Artists School and the Sedona Arts Center.
· Master Signature Member of the Oil Painters of America (OPA-M) and the Plein Air Artists Colorado (PAAC).
· Signature Member of the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association (LPAPA) and the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters (RMPAP).
· Out-of-State Artist Member of the California Art Club (CAC).
· Feature Articles on Mr. Jennings have appeared in Western Art Collector Magazine, Southwest Art Magazine, Art of the West Magazine, The Artist’s Magazine*, International Artist Magazine*, American Artist Magazine*, and Focus Magazine Santa Fe (* including magazine cover art). His work was used on the cover of America West’s in flight magazine for the August 2001 issue.

Rose Frederick

Painting Competition Judge
Long time curator of the Coors Western Art Exhibit and Sale, Rose Fredrick, won a National Endowment for the Arts grant in 2005 to curate the major traveling exhibition Masterpieces of Colorado, a Rich Legacy of Landscape Painting. She has curate many exhibits in Colorado including Shooting the West, for the Arvada Center for the Arts, featuring 18 Colorado photographers. Her writing and interviews with artists have appeared in Southwest Art Magazine; 5280, Denver’s Magazine; Colorado Expressions; Ovation; Art Revue and other publications and websites. Her interview with Wayne Thiebaud, conducted for the Loveland Museum of Art has been used by artists professors when teaching, and has been shown at other museums. Fredrick has been asked to jury numerous exhibitions and has participated in art related panel discussions ranging from ‘Art versus Smut,’ to landscape painting in the West, to the Sand Creek Massacre.

Robert Wands

Quick Draw Competition Judge
Robert Wands was raised in the home of his artist father, the “Dean of Colorado landscape artists”, Alfred Wands, who taught him to paint “en plein air” from the age of 12. Robert went on to receive his B.F.A. and M.A. in painting from the University of Denver with additional graduate work at Case Western Reserve University and The Cleveland Art Institute. His master thesis dealt with “Atmospheric Conditions in Paint” and he became known as a cloud painter. He also spent five years as a seasonal ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park, which added greatly to his interest in landscape painting.

Robert retired as Professor Emeritus of Art from Colorado State University at Pueblo, where he taught drawing and Painting for 33 years. He now maintains two studios, one in Pueblo, CO from October to May, and another in Estes Park, CO from June to September. He is a member of the Cultural Arts Council Board of Directors and we were privileged to have him serve as show juror for PAR 2010.

Judy Archibald

PAR 2011 Show Juror
For more than twenty years Judy Archibald wrote feature articles and columns for magazines, including Wildlife Art, Southwest Art, Equine Images, Art-Talk and Western Styles. A former gallery owner, for the last ten years, she has been director/curator of the annual Colorado Governor's Invitational Art Show held every spring at the Loveland Museum. Judy also coordinates the Artists' Charitable Fund which provides financial assistance to professional artists facing medical crisis. She is also the author of a children's picture book, The Mutt & the Mustang which will be available June 2011. The Cultural Arts Council of Estes Park was privileged to have her serve as the show juror for PAR 2011.