St. Pete’s Own Robert J. Simone Grabs Grand Prize At National Art Event

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St. Pete’s Own Robert J. Simone Grabs Grand Prize at Prestigious National Art Event
07/26/2024 – St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg artist Robert J. Simone won the Grand Prize at Plein Air Easton 2024! Plein Air Easton is the top plein air painting competition in North America, if not the world. It takes place in Talbot County, MD, not far from Washington DC. He competed against 57 other professional artists in this 20th Anniversary edition of the prestigious annual event. “This is the most difficult of events to get into let alone win. I’m still pinching myself!”, Simone said.
The judge, renowned artist Nancy Tankersley, chose Robert’s painting The Shipwright’s Apprentice (26×28; oil) from among a total of 116 competition paintings. She said of Robert’s painting, “It was so compelling that I kept going back to it”. She commented on its excellent design, compositional risk taking, and hidden surprises such as the figure in the middle ground.
Plein Air Painting is the practice of painting a scene on location in real time. Plein air artists paint what they see in front of them. Weather and changing light are a huge part of the challenge. The artist must be adept at thinking on their feet. And interpreting what they see without the aid of photography or other mechanical devices. The use of photographic references is expressly forbidden at these events.
There is a whole series of such competitions on what professional plein air artists refer to as the circuit. The circuit is analogous to tournaments in professional golf or tennis. Many of the country’s top artists make a substantial portion of their annual income competing in these events. Robert J. Simone is a veteran on the circuit. He has received a fair number of top awards, but this one is the brass ring! It is the top event of all. And there is only one Grand Prize winner each year. “I’m always telling my students that good things happen when you paint. Receiving this award proves the adage.”, Simone said.
In many ways Robert is the poster boy for late blooming artists. Although he had a brief stint in art school in the mid 1970’s, he did not pursue art as a career. Nor did he do any drawing or painting after leaving school. Instead, he owned and operated a landscaping and maintenance business in the Tampa Bay Area for over 20 years. “After I got married in 1998, my wife Penny, quickly realized that I was a frustrated artist. She’s the one who encouraged me to take some local painting classes. In no time at all the long-forgotten dream was rekindled.”
In the early 2000’s Robert discovered Plein Air painting when he saw a copy of Plein Air Magazine. He quickly realized that painting outdoors on location was what he needed to do to continue growing. That led to him taking a couple of workshops with renowned artist Scott L. Christensen. Of that experience Simone said, “I took two workshops with Scott at his place in Idaho. It seemed expensive for a lawn guy from Florida. But I’m glad I did it. That’s where I realized that mastering the basics was the most important thing a would-be artist could do.”
Robert’s work is available online at http://RobertJSimone.com and on social media @robertjsimone. His contact information is on the website. Information about mentoring and other instructional opportunities is there as well.