LPAPA Signature Artist Svetlin Sofroniev
Sofia,Bulgaria
SvetlinSofroniev.com
“…For me, watercolor is a passion and a challenge with its subtle and gentle nature, innate wildness and unpredictability… Watercolor can easily express the impression of the moment. Quick and concise, but sufficient. I can compare it to haiku poetry – it says everything without burdening with specifics…”
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LPAPA Signature Artist Manon Sander
North Palm Beach, Florida
ManonSander.com
Manon Sander is a Florida-based oil painter who has taken it upon herself to savor all the flavors of life. Starting a new painting is like hearing the soft, welcoming jingle of the ice cream truck on a sweltering deep-summer day. The air is heavy with the anticipation of a sweet reward, and as the color melts from Manon’s brush onto that hungry canvas, she tastes the simple, joyous flavor of childhood, when life was lived not just to the fullest, but bursting at the seams.
LPAPA Signature Artist Richard Sneary
Kansas City, Kansas
Richard started painting professionally in 2011, after over 40 years as an architectural illustrator and architect. He has has juried into and been invited to more than 100 plein air events and organized paint-outs since then. He is signature member of the American Watercolor Society, National Watercolor Society, Outdoor Painters Society, American Impressionists Society, Missouri and Kansas Watercolor Societies, & Missouri Valley Impressionists Society. Richard taught architectural design and drawing at the University Of Kansas from 1977 to 1985, and has led many workshops around the country. Recent awards include: Grand Prize, Lighthouse Plein Air 2022; 2nd Place, Paint Annapolis 2022; 2nd Place, Estes Valley Plein Air, 2022 & 2023; Best Body of Work, En Plein Air Texas 2021; Best of Show, Stems Plein Air 2020 & 2011; 2nd Place Artists Choice, Telluride 2018; 1st Place Quick Paint, Easels In Frederick 2013; Best of Show, 2018 & 2012 MVIS Annual Juried Exhibition; Historic Preservation Award, Best Architectural Award, Honorable Mention, Best Use of Light, Honorable Mention, and Life of A Waterman Awards in 2012, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2023 at Plein Air Easton; Faculty Artist at Streamline’s 3rd Annual Watercolor Live 2023; Faculty Artist at the 11th Annual Plein Air Convention & Expo 2024 & The 5th Annual Plein Air Convention & Expo 2016; Featured Artist in Watercolor Magazine, “Playing Within the Lines”, February/March 2022; June 2016; Special Feature in Plein AIr Magazine, “Deep In The Heart of West Texas”, June/July 2020; Featured Artist in Plein Air Magazine, Aug/Sept 2014; Best Overall Watercolor for the Apr/May Plein Air Salon Competition. Richard is represented by Art Gallery Prudencia, San Antonio & McBride Galley, Annapolis, MD.
Learn more at RichardSneary.com
LPAPA Signature Artist Lisa Skelly
Balboa Island, California
LisaSkelly.com
Lisa studied graphic design at Northern Illinois University, that started her lifelong career in art. Right out of college, Lisa decided to travel the world as a flight attendant, until her first child and husband grounded her and she started her first art business, Deux Brosses, a faux finishing and mural company. Lisa fell in love with fine art and especially Plein Air. She explored many different mediums and decided on pastels as her favorite. She studied with colorist, Camille Przewodek, to take her skills and abilities to higher levels. She has studied with some of the best Plein Air Artists in the country, including Ken Auster, Debra Huse, Kim Lordier, Clark Mitchell and many more. In 2017, Lisa relocated to Newport Beach, Ca, and resumed her longtime love affair with the ocean.
LPAPA Signature Artist Ray Roberts
Angels Camp, California
RayRobertsArt.Com
Award winning artist Ray Roberts grew up in Orange County, California with orange groves, before the days of freeways and sprawling housing developments. It has given him an enduring affection for the untamed, undeveloped California of his youth. Ray first pursued a career as an illustrator, establishing a studio in Los Angeles and then Scottsdale. He switch to fine art in 1992 and has never looked back. Ray shared the 2003 “Best in Show” award with LPAPA Signature Artist Michael Obermeyer. In 2004, he shared the “Best in Show” award with LPAPA Signature Artist Calvin Liang for the 6th Annual Laguna Beach Plein Air Painting Invitational. In 2006 he shared the Laguna Invitational “Best in Show” award with artist Joe McGurl, and in both 2011 and 2015 he was presented with the Laguna Beach Plein Air Painting Invitational “Best in Show” awards. Ray was recognized with LPAPA’s 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award for his exceptional body of work and teaching.
1999 1st Annual Laguna Plein Air Invitational Honorable Mention Award
2003 5th Annual Laguna Plein Air Invitational “Artists’ Choice” Best in Show Award
2004 6th Annual Laguna Plein Air Invitational “Artists’ Choice” Best in Show Award
2006 8th Annual Laguna Plein Air Invitational “Artists’ Choice” Best in Show Award
2011 13th Annual Laguna Plein Air Invitational Best in Show Award
2015 17th Annual Laguna Plein Air Invitational Best in Show Award
2016 18th Annual Laguna Plein Air Invitational Founder’s Award Winner
2023 25th Annual Laguna Plein Air Painters Association Lifetime Achievement Award
Invited LPAPA Gallery Artist – The Invitational Legacy: Then & Now – June 2026
