Renowned Expert Leads Over 20 Painters at This Year's Festival
Coastal VA Plein Air is excited to announce that fine artist M. Stephen Doherty will serve at the judge for the 2020 event. A national leader in the plein air movement and an accomplished artist, Doherty will join 20 en plein air painters as they paint outdoors throughout coastal Virginia over the five-day festival, which culminates in a juried show at the end of the week. Artists will vie for top awards and prize monies.
Doherty's expertise extends well beyond painting. For over three decades, he served as editor of American Artist magazine and launched three additional art magazines: Watercolor, Drawing, and Workshop. In 2011, he became Editor-in-Chief of PleinAir magazine and moved to Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. He continues to edit the magazine as well as participate in plein air events, judge art shows, teach workshops, exhibit paintings, and present lectures. He has served as an exhibition judge for Arts for the Parks, Watercolor West, and the International Society of Pastel Organizations, and is on the advisory board of the New York Academy of Art, the Florence Academy, the Portrait Society of America and the American Society of Portrait Painters.
Born in New Orleans, Doherty is a summa cum laude graduate of Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, He then earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in printmaking from Cornell University and began teaching in both public schools and colleges. Doherty has also worked in marketing for a screen print art supply manufacturer. He commented on his participation at the festival, "I am honored to serve as judge of this terrific plein air event, one that does a fabulous job of helping artists, collectors, and members of the Coastal Virginia community."
Doherty has written several books including "The Watson-Guptill Handbook of Landscape Painting"; "Creative Oil Painting", and "Color Choices". He has served as an exhibition judge for Arts for the Parks, Watercolor West, and the International Society of Pastel Organizations, and is on the advisory board of the New York Academy of Art, the Florence Academy, the Portrait Society of America and the American Society of Portrait Painters.
Coastal VA Plein Air's volunteer organizers will again donate all proceeds from the festival to commission public art, and this year the group has expanded its community scope to include funding a children's summer art camp in Norfolk. In 2019, the non-profit festival raised $50,000, including matching funds from Norfolk Arts. Coastal VA Plein Air is also sponsored by the Ocean View Business Association.
Details for all events and artists are available at the festival's website, www.coastalvapleinair.com.
Natural Bridge by M. Stephen Doherty
Natural Bridges by M. Stephen Doherty