Plein Air Salon winner - portrait of a Jaguar
"Panthera Onca" (mixed media, 31 x 24.5 in.) by Filbert Arzelos, won the "Best Animals" category of the March 2021 Plein Air Salon

Congratulations to Filbert Arzelos (www.filbertarzelos.site), whose work has been recognized in the Plein Air Salon, a monthly art competition with many categories in which to enter your art.

Filbert Arzelos on Painting “Panthera Onca”

“Panthera Onca,” which is the Latin name for Jaguar, is one of the few animal portraits I have done. When I read that a category of the Plein Air Salon was Animals and Birds, I decided to make a painting of a majestic and powerful animal; I have my own cat and I like the integrity cats exude so the choice of animals was easy.

This painting is acrylic and colored pencil on paper. There are even some strokes of oil paint in it. Normally I work on canvas but this time I decided to do it on paper. It is a nice surface to work on. The base is airbrushed acrylic and the details are painted with colored pencils. (“Panthera Onca” is currently available for sale.)

Currently I am looking for an art gallery in the US that shows highly realistic landscapes and nature paintings. If you are a gallery owner and find my works interesting, you are welcome to contact me via my website: www.filbertarzelos.site.

The Plein Air Salon is one of the bigger art competitions out there and a great place to be seen. If you are thinking of entering, you should definitely do so. There is a good chance that important people in the art industry will see your work. Enter as many paintings in as many different categories as possible. It will increase your chances. ~F.A.

Additional Realism Paintings by Filbert Arzelos

Contemporary realism paintings
Filbert Arzelos, “XI,” Acrylic on canvas. 35,4″ x 53,1″ – 90 x 135 cm
Contemporary realism landscape
Filbert Arzelos, “The Frozen Island,” Acrylic and oil on canvas 27″x 53″ – 68 x 134 cm
Contemporary realism landscape
Filbert Arzelos, “Sunny Grass,” Acrylic on canvas. 35,4″ x 53,1″ – 90 x 135 cm
Contemporary realism landscape
Filbert Arzelos, “Sunny Cliffs” Acrylic, oil, and colored pencil on canvas. 22,8″ x 40,1″ – 58 x 102 cm
Contemporary realism landscape
Filbert Arzelos, “Line 50,” Acrylic and oil on canvas 27″x53″ – 68 x 134 cm
Contemporary realism landscape
Filbert Arzelos, “In Between 2 (Snoopy Rock, Sedona),” Acrylic on canvas. 23,6″x35,4″ – 60 x 90 cm
Contemporary realism landscape
Filbert Arzelos, “Castle Rock (Monument Valley),” Acrylic and oil on canvas 12” x 21,5” – 31 x 55 cm

Other categories for the Plein Air Salon art competition include Best Building, Best Drawing and Sketches, and many more! Visit pleinairsalon.com to view the complete list.

Why should a contemporary realist enter the Plein Air Salon?

Because this art contest is created by Plein Air 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, but should originate from a plein air study or plein air experience. As we know, many studio paintings start with plein air sketches. Our interest is in rewarding great paintings.

The Plein Air Salon awards $33,000 in CASH each year! Learn more at pleinairsalon.com, and enter your best work for your chance to win this art competition. Enter now – the next deadline is coming soon!

Enter Now

If you’ve never entered, it only takes a couple of minutes to create your own account. Once you do that, just upload the images of your best work and select the categories you wish to enter – very manageable to do!

All of our awards are CASH, with the grand prize winner getting called up on stage at the Convention & Expo to claim their check for $15,000. That grand prize winner will also have their winning painting featured on the cover of Plein Air magazine (can it get any better?).

There are smaller cash awards, too, and you can find out all about them here. Remember, even if a previous judge did not select your painting, our current judge just might find it to be a winner!

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