The Laguna Plein Air Painters Assn. has proven its staying power over the years, its annual invitational event reminding the community of its roots as a colony of artists that gravitated to its natural beauty.
Plein air painting, or painting outdoors, has carried on in the town, which remains a natural masterpiece with its rolling hills abutting the shoreline.
Barriers were broken in the 27th LPAPA Invitational, held Oct. 4-12, as artist Jason Li made history on multiple accounts. A Yorba Linda resident and a Festival of Arts exhibitor, Li became the first to win “Best in Show” while working with watercolors.
“Catching Sunset,” the 12-by-16-inch winning selection, also marked the first time judges had awarded the top prize for a landscape painting that did not depict Laguna Beach, contest organizers said.
Li received $10,000 for his efforts. He was proud to share on Instagram that the award was “for all the watercolor artists.” He added that Newport Beach art collector Mark Hilbert purchased the piece for the Hilbert Museum of California Art.
Artist Jason Li’s painting “Breakthrough” won a people’s choice award in the 2025 Laguna Plein Air Painters Assn. Invitational.
(Tom Lamb)
“I just love the bay and the boats, and then the historical part of it,” Li said of his decision to paint Balboa Bay in Newport Beach. “It also happened to be stunning sunset scenery there. I’ve been painting there for many times, so I’m familiar with that area.
“When I do it, I feel like I can pull it off in a short amount of time, so that’s part of the reason I choose that, and also, I think that also represents Southern California, too.”
Another entry in the quick-draw competition earned Li a people’s choice award for “Breakthrough,” a look at South Laguna from Heisler Park.
The judges included: Jean Stern, director emeritus of the Irvine Museum; Rosemary Swimm, director emeritus of LPAPA; and Ned Mueller, a LPAPA signature artist who received a lifetime achievement award.
Competing in the invitational for the third consecutive year, Li said he was in disbelief when the judges called his name for Best in Show.
Artist Kathleen B. Hudson received an Award of Excellence for her painting “Nightfall, Laguna Beach” in the 2025 Laguna Plein Air Painters Assn. Invitational.
(Tom Lamb)
“Those [judges] are really known in this [artistic] circle, so to get the recognition from them … I realized that longtime dream had come true in that moment,” Li added. “It’s just surreal.”
Among other top honors, Colorado’s Kathleen B. Hudson’s “Nightfall, Laguna Beach” earned the Award of Excellence and a $5,000 prize. Minnesota’s Carl Bretzke, last year’s Best in Show honoree, received $2,500 as the Jean Stern Distinctive Merit Legacy Award winner for “By The Shower at Dusk.”
Northern California artist Ryan Jensen, of Blue Lake, repeated as the Kinsman Family “Best Laguna” Award winner for “Light on the Boardwalk.”
The invitational featured 30 artists, spanning 10 states and two countries this year. Orange County artists included Michael Obermeyer and Mason Williams of Laguna Beach, Debra Huse of Costa Mesa, Michael Situ of Irvine and Kim VanDerHoek of Orange.
Huse received the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, “Artist in Residence” Award, and Situ was recognized as the Laguna Art Museum Award recipient for “Laguna Light.”
Artist Carl Bretzke won the Jean Stern Distinctive Merit Legacy Award for “By The Shower at Dusk” in the 2025 Laguna Plein Air Painters Assn. Invitational.
(Tom Lamb)
Haidee-Jo Summers of Grantham, England, represented the international contingent for the competition. Summers’ submission “Maybe I’m a Hopeless Dreamer” received the Hilbert Museum Award.
“The artistic legacy of plein air was upheld that week, for sure,” said Bonnie Langner, executive director of LPAPA. “We had so many different styles but all just yelling plein air. The weather cooperated, so we got some beautiful paintings. People were just so receptive. I think in difficult times, these paintings make you smile.”
LPAPA also hosted the Future Generation Paint Out for students in the Laguna Beach Unified School District, as well as the Next Generation Paint Out for those enrolled at Laguna College of Art + Design.
Haidee-Jo Summers received the Hilbert Museum Award for “Maybe I’m a Hopeless Dreamer” in the 2025 Laguna Plein Air Painters Assn. Invitational.
(Tom Lamb)
Four students at the canyon-based LCAD received scholarships: Anne Lin for “Overcast,” Gyongy Sza’szva’rosi for “High Tide,” Maya Buchwald for “Morning Tide” and Arthur Zhang for “Cerulean Waves.”
Pieces produced during the invitational, as well as through the student art contests, will be on display at the LPAPA Gallery, 414 North Coast Highway, through Dec. 1.
