Artists Class

Natalia Andreeva emerged as an artist from the rich and fertile artistic climate of Novosibirsk, in Siberia, after graduating from Novosibirsk Art Institute. Natalia's work is a harmonious marriage between spontaneous expressions and classical realism. Among Natalia's favorite themes are exquisite landscapes, still life, and figures and portraits. Natalia holds a Signature Membership Status in the American Impressionist Society. Her work has been distinguished with honors and fellowships.

Jill Banks’ award-winning Impressionist paintings range in subject from portraiture to cityscapes, interiors, animals, and still lifes. Jill’s work has earned her signature status in American Women Artists and Women Artists of the West, an Artist to Watch by Southwest Art and Best in Show among 1400+ entries in a BoldBrush competition. She has been juried into many of the country’s top plein air competitions including Telluride where she was the 2018 #1 top seller/quick draw winner. Recent plein air triumphs include winning Best in Show in Knoxville’s Artists on Location 2022 competition, Best Symphony at Gloucester VA Invitational 2022 and the publication of her seaside piece in a two-page spread in PleinAir Magazine.

Landscape impressionist Bridger Barksdale’s artistic journey began in 2016, when his late grandfather offered to teach him the art of watercolor painting amidst the colors of the Arizona Desert. Over the course of six years, he has garnered several accolades, including 1st place in the Ogden Plein Air Quick Draw, 2nd place in the WaterMedia Showcase, 3rd place in the Wasatch Plein Air Paradise, and an exhibition with the American Watercolor Society. Barksdale is a representative of Masterworks Frames, where he has acquired skills in designing, building, and finishing his own picture frames.

Lon Brauer is an American artist known for his oil paintings in figure and plein air landscape. Born in 1955 and coming of age in the early seventies, he has roots in the Abstract Expressionist movement. His work is a mixture of the abstract and the representational, bringing an impressionistic use of paint and materials to create images that challenge the viewer with new perspectives.

The art of Krystal W Brown is a painted view of the world revealed through a deep love for nature and the healing balm it imparts. Krystal’s work has been featured in multiple fine art publications, garnered numerous top awards, and achieved her NOAPS signature status. Krystal shares her knowledge by helping others create their art while honoring their unique voice through workshops and individual instruction.

Watercolorist Thomas Bucci holds a Bachelor’s Degree in graphic design and a Master’s Degree in architecture. After eight years working as an architect, he began working full-time as a printmaker and painter. He is currently focused on watercolor plein air and studio painting. He is a signature member of several watercolor societies, and an elected artist member of the Salmagundi Club of NY. For the last five years he has exhibited with a group representing the USA at Fabriano In Acquarello, an annual international watercolor exhibition in Italy. His work has been featured in Plein Air Magazine, Fine Art Connoisseur, and the Art Renewal Center publications.

Lisa BurgerLentz is a painter and a printmaker. Formally working in the design and illustration field, Lisa now paints en plein air and makes prints using traditional printmaking techniques. Lisa has participated in Plein Air Competitions such as Paint Annapolis, Brandywine Plein Air, Chesapeake City Paint Out, Saranac Lake Art Festival and Mill Grove Plein Air in Audubon, PA. She has also attended The Publishers Invitational Paint Camp at Paul Smith College in the Adirondacks.

John Caggiano has been painting for 59 years, 43 as a professional. He is invited and juried into six to twelve of the major plein air events yearly, where he has won numerous awards. John travels extensively, both in the US and Europe to paint his impressionistic-realism paintings, using both brush and palette knife. His greatest joy is painting with friends and colleagues who live and breathe art.

A graduate of the Schuler School of Fine Arts Atelier, Lauren Carlo was traditionally a figurative and still-life artist until she started working for the company Workshops in France. After learning to plein air paint while running art retreats abroad, plein air quickly became a passion for Lauren. This is her first time competing in the Mountain Maryland Plein Air competition.

Michael Compton studied art and graphic design at Colorado State University and The Minneapolis College of Art & Design. Finding work initially as a package designer for Minnetonka Labs in Chaska Minnesota, Michael’s graphic arts career also included print and book illustration and fabric print design in addition to an ongoing presence in the field of fine arts as a watercolorist and painter. His paintings can be found in numerous corporate and individual collections. Michael now devotes his time entirely to painting, with current emphasis on plein air work. In 2020, Michael won an award of merit at the American Impressionist Society International show and was included in the 2021 Oil painters of America Salon.

Freeman Dodsworth began his training under accomplished Eastern Shore artist Terry Wolf in the 1980s. Freeman works primarily in oils, enjoying the traditional techniques and materials of the great masters. He often makes his own foundations of panel or canvas, and even crafts many of the frames for his paintings. The woods and fields of Maryland provide the inspiration for many of Freeman’s paintings, as do the local creeks, rivers and marinas. He mixes his time between outdoor painting and working in the studio, but with every painting he seeks light, shadow and dramatic shapes that convey a story.

John Eiseman attended the Kansas City Art Institute and the Maryland Institute College of Art. He is a studio and “plein air” painter - participating in 10-12 plein air festivals a year. His paintings have won numerous awards and have been accepted into many juried exhibitions. John’s awards include: Best Plein Air Landscape-June 2022-Plein Air Salon/Magazine, Artists’ Choice award and the “Spirit of Maryland” award, 2022 Harford County Plein Air Festival; “Best in Show”, Adkins Nature Center; Best “Nocturne” painting, Gloucester, Virginia Arts Festival; 2nd place, New Bern Plein Air Festival 2021 & 2022.

David Finnell is pleased to be back at Mountain Maryland, where he won “Best Newcomer” in 2018. As a boy, he dreamed of becoming a cartoonist. As a draft eligible young man, he joined the Army. As a retired high school English teacher, he turned to art. Today, David is a watercolorist who works impressionistically. He enjoys painting subjects that are past their sell-by date. A Midwestern native, David lives today in Charlottesville, Virginia, with his wife and daughter.

Tarryl was born and raised on a cattle ranch in North Dakota, and she began painting at an early age. She didn’t start plein air painting until after living in the Hudson Valley Region of NY. Now she is painting full time and loves to travel and paint.

Jill Glassman lives on the Eastern Shore of Maryland where she is an active member of numerous art and plein air organizations. She has competed as a juried artist in a number of plein air events including Plein Air Easton, Paint Annapolis, and the North Carolina Plein Air Festival in New Bern. Jill’s most recent awards include Second Place 2022 Maryland Pastel Society National Exhibition, the 2021 Quick Draw Competition Plein Air New Bern, 2021 Plein Air Easton Juror’s Award, Third Place 2021 Artists’s Paint OC, and the Ardis Diaz Award 2021 Paint Annapolis.

Mary Ellen Goetz, (Meg) was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware. She holds a BFA from the University of Dayton and continued her studies at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Art, Fleisher School of Art, and Wayne Art. Mary Ellen attends workshops with Skip Lawrence, Laurie Putnam, Tara Will, Anne Blair Brown, Colon Page, and many other talented artists.

Ray Hassard is happily returning to Mountain Maryland for the third time. His art has been the subject of feature articles in Plein Air Magazine, in Pastel Journal as winner of the Gold Medal Award in the 2014 Top 100 competition, and in pastel, drawing and acrylic anthologies from North Light Publishing. He has been a finalist in the Art Renewal Center's Salon annually since 2012. Travel and painting are his two loves. He returned to India for three plein air trips and paints in Europe every year. In 2013, he was Artist in Residence in Dinan, France for the month of June.

Hai-Ou Hou was born in Beijing where she received her B.F.A from Central Institute of Fine Art and Design. She earned her M.F.A. from Towson State University. She taught at the Hubei Fine Art Institute, China. Hai-Ou is currently owner and director of the Chesapeake Fine Art Studio.

Russell Jewell is an internationally recognized plein air painter with signature memberships in the American Watercolor Society, National Watercolor Society, and The Transparent Watercolor Society of America. In 2020 and 2021, Jewell's work exhibited in New York with the American Watercolor Society exhibition.  Jewell’s accomplishments include a doctorate in art education from the University of Georgia and a Fulbright Memorial fund scholarship to Japan.

Jim Laurino studied painting, design, and color theory at the University of Connecticut. Through additional workshops and self-study, Jim has cultivated a bold representational painting style that balances the impressionists’ influence with contemporary subject matter. Jim constructs frames for all of his paintings. The frames, made from reclaimed wood material, fashion a rustic window into each piece, subtly complimenting his work. Jim’s paintings are in numerous private collections throughout the US and overseas. He shows his work in venues across the Northeast, and enjoys participating in competitive painting events

Lynn Lewis has painted en plein air since she was a teen, learning alongside her father on family vacations. She paints with water-based media—acrylic, gouache, and watercolor—and has developed a loose, shape-oriented style to quickly catch images before mood and lighting shifts. Lynn recently retired from teaching elementary public school art after 34 years. She is looking forward to many more painting family adventures and exciting plein air events!

Bill Rogers is a signature member of the American Watercolor Society (AWS), the Transparent Watercolor Society of America (TWSA), the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour (CSPWC) of which he is a past president, and the American Society of Marine Artists (ASMA). He is an avid plein air painter in both oil and watercolor and has been juried into top plein air festivals in the USA and abroad, where he has won many awards. In May 2014, Bill served as the Royal Tour Artist for the 2014 Royal Tour of Canada by HRH Prince Charles (now HM King Charles III) and HRH Duchess of Cornwall. It was the experience of a lifetime. A number of the works completed from the tour were acquired by HM King Charles for his personal Royal Collection.

Being raised at the edge of the Finger Lakes National Forest in Central New York State set the stage for Kari’s deep connection to the natural landscape. She’s been a decorative painter, faux finisher, muralist, and owned a picture framing studio and boutique gallery with her husband. The couple now travels the country painting and photographing their adventure. Awards include Best in Show - Paint Grand Traverse (MI) 2022, Best In Architecture and Art - Cape Ann Plein Air (MA) 2022, and Best In Show - Shadows On The Teche (LA) 2023.

Marjorie Shanks is a plein air artist living in central Louisiana with her husband, a large collection of cats, and three goats. She began painting outside several years ago when her husband surprised her with a plein air workshop in Texas; those first efforts were daunting and she said “never again,” but now happily travels to plein air events around the country each year. Marge often pulls inspiration from her home landscape and the new vistas she finds on her many travels.

Robert Simone is drawn to all coastal and landscape scenery. He is a Signature Member of both the American Society of Marine Artists and the Outdoor Painters Society. He is an Associate Member of the Oil Painters of America (OPA), National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society (NOAPS), and the American Impressionist Society (AIS). Simone’s award-winning paintings have been included in numerous private collections.

John Slivjak earned a BFA from The Philadelphia College of Art and an MFA from Indiana University. He continues to hone his craft by study at Studio Incamminati in Philadelphia and shares his knowledge through workshops and classes at Cheltenham Center for the Arts.  His work includes landscape, figure, portrait, and still life paintings. John participates regularly in plein air events across the country, both as artist and juror. His art has been featured in publications including PleinAir Magazine. His work is held in numerous public and private collections.

Richard has been painting en plein air since 2011, after more than 40 years as an architect, teacher, and architectural illustrator. He is a signature member of AIS, AWS, NWS, OPS, & MVIS. Recent awards include Grand Prize at Lighthouse Plein Air 2022, 2nd Place at Paint Annapolis 2022 & Estes Valley Plein Air 2022, Body of Work at en Plein Air Texas 2021, Best of Show at Stems Plein Air 2020, 2nd Place Artists Choice at Telluride 2018. Richard was a Faculty Artist at Streamline’s 3rd Annual Watercolor Live 2023, and PACE in 2016. He has been published in various periodicals including Plein Air Magazine and Watercolor Magazine.

Born and raised in Cebu City, Philippines, Richie Vios hails from an artistic family. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in architecture, and was a university faculty member, teaching architectural design and presentation. Beginning in 2004, he moved back and forth between the Philippines and the United States, working in the field of architecture, and in his spare time, refining and honing his unique mastery of watercolor painting. Today he works full time as a watercolor impressionist and Pleinair artist. He competes in Pleinair events all over the United States and conducts watercolor workshops along the way.

Being inspired by several professional artists in her family Durre Waseem majored in art, and started as an instructor at the same university. It was during her teaching years that she explored herself as an artist and developed a better understanding of seeing and interpreting. Durre enjoys the process of painting in several mediums and her choice of subject matter also has a wide range. Like the majority of artists, she started as a realistic painter, eventually seeking to be more abstract. At this stage, she just wants her journey to never end.

Jeff Williams is a retired professor of architecture. In 2017, he retired from teaching to pursue two of his passions, watercolor painting and travel. Inspired and encouraged by workshop leaders Tony Van Hasselt, Thomas Schaller, Andy Evansen and most notably, Joseph Zbukvic, Williams is currently creating award winning paintings both in studio and en plein air, is an invited member of the well-known Rattlesnake Gang, painting annually in Big Bend National Park, and has rapidly become a regular on the professional plein air circuit.