The winners of the two-hour quick draw, held by Plein Air Easton Saturday, celebrate by hoisting their paintings high. The big winner, taking first place, was David Diaz of Annapolis.

The winners of the two-hour quick draw, held by Plein Air Easton Saturday, celebrate by hoisting their paintings high. The big winner, taking first place, was David Diaz of Annapolis.

Walkers check out the painter’s works as they cruise the boundaries of the painting. This artist, Anne Molaskey from St. Louis, brought her bicycle to get to the primo spot with all her gear. Shade is paramount not only for survival but also for judging the colors accurately. Nicholas O’Leary is in the background working his own magic.

Sometimes a mess has to be made to create a masterpiece. This artist has several tools at his disposal to attack the canvas.

Here is the event judge, Julia Marciari-Alexander. She is the director at The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. She looked at every painting at least twice before making her decisions.

Kyle Buckland took an ambitious big canvas to fill in two hours. He framed and sold it right on the street.

“Get In The Van” performed a selection of covers Saturday at Plein Air Easton. The Avalon, who produces this whole event, is truly adept at throwing a party.

Tim Beall from St. Michaels gets rolling on his canvas. Two hours really flies by, especially if people are chatting with you.

The winners of the two-hour quick draw, held by Plein Air Easton Saturday, celebrate by hoisting their paintings high. The big winner, taking first place, was David Diaz of Annapolis.

The winners of the two-hour quick draw, held by Plein Air Easton Saturday, celebrate by hoisting their paintings high. The big winner, taking first place, was David Diaz of Annapolis.

Walkers check out the painter’s works as they cruise the boundaries of the painting. This artist, Anne Molaskey from St. Louis, brought her bicycle to get to the primo spot with all her gear. Shade is paramount not only for survival but also for judging the colors accurately. Nicholas O’Leary is in the background working his own magic.

Sometimes a mess has to be made to create a masterpiece. This artist has several tools at his disposal to attack the canvas.

Here is the event judge, Julia Marciari-Alexander. She is the director at The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. She looked at every painting at least twice before making her decisions.

Kyle Buckland took an ambitious big canvas to fill in two hours. He framed and sold it right on the street.

“Get In The Van” performed a selection of covers Saturday at Plein Air Easton. The Avalon, who produces this whole event, is truly adept at throwing a party.

Tim Beall from St. Michaels gets rolling on his canvas. Two hours really flies by, especially if people are chatting with you.

EASTON — The smell of oil paint and linseed oil permeated the steamy streets of downtown Easton Saturday. Plein Air Easton was having its annual quick draw competition on July 23. This was a place where the pros and shmos could compete to complete a two-hour painting.

It was ready, set, paint as the air horn went off to mark the beginning on the event at 10 a.m. Some artists had gotten set up at a choice spot way earlier. This was the 18th year of the vibrant festival.

The 2022 Best New Artist Winner was Hema Gupta. She is a watercolorist.

“I am a newcomer, right. It was a little overwhelming because I did not know where to go. I was driving around looking for the perfect spot. There are so many terrific artists, but after the second day, I realized I should keep doing what I do. I am good at urban scenes,” said Gupta.

Artist Amy Bartlett Wright of Rhode Island said, “I could spend a month on this painting, but that is not what the job is. Your job is to see what you can do in two hours. It is a very short time. The whole point of Plein Air is to do what the impressionists did. I am not going to paint every window pain.”

Stewart White had a lean-to easel where the bottom of his large canvas was on the ground. Sitting on the bricks in front of the Tidewater Inn, he had a jaunty, straw boater's hat on.

“I am just trying to keep the ego out of this. I am not sure what I am painting today,” said Stewart.

He was halfway done on a large canvas.

Over 200 residents wandered the streets looking at the canvases and chatting up the artists. Some of these folks had come to buy these still wet gems. Before commerce could commence the event judge had to find her favorites. Studiously she went over every painting. This is kind of an impossible job, but Director of the Walters Art Museum Julia Marciari-Alexander made it fun.

At noon the final horn went off, and the brushes went down. Some artists hadn’t finished in time, but they were having fun anyway.

The heat was oppressive but they were giving out icy-cold bottles of water. The free water was sponsored by Earth Data. The sponsor for the whole quick draw event is September 1 Partners.

The awards ceremony took place on the stage where "Get In The Van" had finished a first set of covers. The judge took the stage and called the winners to bring their paintings up in front of the stage.

“Judging is hard in any circumstance, but judging your incredible skill and talent and just vision for creating something in less than two hours. And doing so in circumstances that were — hot. Interacting with all of the artists has been incredible. This is an amazing opportunity to really have validation for their work,” said Marciari-Alexander.

Then she handed out paper sheet awards in black folders. One after another artists came up with their paintings in hand and shook Al Bond’s hand. He is CEO of the Avalon and organizes this multifaceted event. The artists waited nearby for the final big group shot. The big winner was David Diaz of Annapolis. He got a medal that said Quick Draw First Place.

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