McMichael Annual
En Plein Air Competition
2025  Winners

Throughout August and September, over 70 artists of all ages participated in the McMichael’s annual En Plein Air Competition, creating and submitting captivating en plein air artworks created on the McMichael’s iconic grounds and the historic village of Kleinburg.

The 2025 En Plein Air Competition proudly recognizes the award-winning artists selected from 44 shortlisted works. Presented on this page, the top prize recipients and the People’s Choice Award winner exemplify exceptional creativity, technical skill, and a compelling interpretation of the McMichael landscape.

Contemporary
Landscape

http://Painting%20of%20the%20McMichael%20main%20building%20entrance%20with%20soft%20pastel%20tones,%20solarized%20look.

Jenny Zhang , Imagine, mineral pigments on paper mounted on wood panel

1^st Place
Jenny Zhang,
Imagine

My work explores the intersection of memory, experience, and imagination of place. Through en plein air painting, I immerse myself in the landscape to capture the colour, texture, and atmosphere. I am drawn to impermanence—the way light shifts, pigments flow, and imagination appears—which guides both my process and choice of medium. The various textures and layers invite viewers to observe and interpret from their own perspectives, creating space to connect with the peaceful, beautiful, and inspiring environment around them.

http://Gallery%20interior%20with%20artwork%20displayed%20on%20walls,%20three%20feminine%20figures%20passing%20calmly%20through.

Nancy Buckingham, Morrice Past and Present, watercolour on paper

2^nd Place
Nancy Buckingham,
Morrice Past and Present

My goal was to document an en plein air painting in the style of James Morrice using as many plein air techniques as a gallery setting will allow for watercolor eg. onsite sketching and frequent visits for color, lighting and compositional adjustments.

I am a proud Canadian artist who strives to create art that evokes emotion and storytelling.

In this piece, I wanted to showcase the feeling of connection between Morrice’s art and its visitors (one of whom surrepticiously has the same hairstyle as in the wall mural) to “The McMichael Canadian Art Collection” which is the jewel of Kleinburg.

http://Painting%20of%20twisted%20tree%20branches%20in%20earthy%20tones.

Elizabeth Jung-Torres, Whispy, mixed media MDF

3^rd Place
Elizabeth Jung-Torres,
Whispy

Based on a view while walking along the trail behind the McMichael, the piece centers on the whimsy of the many new protruding branches off the main central branch. for me, this symbolizes starting over again-and-again even beyond recognition of original dreams and goals. I have chosen to build off the lighting and my fondness for fae in the form of an Art Nouveau pattern on the bottom left to contrast the form of the tree.

Landscape
Reimagined

http://Black-and-white%20artwork%20of%20figures%20pulling%20a%20cart%20in%20a%20spiral%20design.

Tushar Patel, Planting Hope, charcoal on paper

1^st Place
Tushar Patel,
Planting Hope

This drawing reflects humanity’s fragile effort to restore what it has undone. The figures bend in quiet penance, planting hope into a scarred earth. The spiral sky echoes the turbulence of climate change—an atmosphere both wounded and alive. Using charcoal, a material born of fire, I evoke the duality of destruction and renewal. The work stands as both elegy and prayer: a meditation on loss, endurance, and the faint persistence of life returning through our smallest acts of care.

http://Abstract%20artwork%20with%20swirling%20brown%20lines.

Diana Nadia Lawryshyn, Reflections on the Water, acrylic on wood panel

2^nd Place
Diana Nadia Lawryshyn,
Reflections on the Water

This painting began as a landscape inspired by the McMichael grounds, drawn from my memory of a forested stretch along the Humber River. As I worked, I let my brushstrokes follow the grain of the wooden panel, allowing the surface to guide the composition. This process gradually abstracted the landscape, and the blue lines—originally intended to depict water—began to resemble human faces and figures. The emergence of these human-like forms felt like my subconscious personification of the river’s living energy, hinting at a connection between the way we act toward our waterways and the way we act toward one another.

http://Large%20tree%20with%20textured%20bark%20and%20branches%20spreading%20wide.

Sean Van Wert, Love Tree, egg tempera panel

3^rd Place
Sean Van Wert,
Love Tree

A 170-year-old bur oak tree stands in the parkette on Torrey Pines Road, in the middle of a sprawling subdivision. Dubbed the “Love Tree” by developers, it’s an example of how natural heritage features can been protected even as landscapes change. My submission is the portrait of an ancient, unyielding creature.

Kleinburg
Award

http://House%20with%20a%20large%20porch%20surrounded%20by%20greenery.

Michelle Chen, The Corner of Kleinburg, oil on canvas

Michelle Chen

Comments from Cinzia Recine, BIA member:

My family and I have lived in Kleinburg for 22 years.  When I look at this piece of art it evokes a feeling of “being home”.  It accurately depicts all the finest details that would mirror a photograph.  A brilliant display of talent.