This year’s Shadows-on-the-Teche Plein Air Competition judge is an award-winning Vermont artist who has a passion for landscapes.

Mark Boedges, 48, has about 10 years of experience in competing in and judging plein air events. With a background in IT, Boedges transitioned to a full-time art career eight years ago after going back to school at the University of Colorado to study art.

The Shadows’ eighth annual plein air competition begins Saturday and continues through Friday, March 18. The event was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Boedges said that early on in his art-making career he knew an artist needs to be in front of their subject as much as possible.

“So it was just a natural outcome that I would go outside to paint,” Boedges said.

There’s an unofficial plein air circuit that sees artists compete at multiple events throughout the year, he said. The competition is strong, which means the artists make sure they do their best work.

“I remember back when I did it, I would do three or four over the course of a summer, and paint with some of the same folks who would do those events,” Boedges said. “But there were some folks doing 10 or 12 events, really getting after it. It’s kind of a scene, so to speak.

“You see a really high quality of artwork at these events. Every artist, we’re like anyone else, we want to win, we want to sell our things, we want to win the awards, so everyone brings their A-game. So everyone knows everyone’s bringing their A-game, so you see a lot of good work,” he continued.

Shadows-on-the-Teche marketing and programs manager Jayd Buteaux said roughly 25 to 30 artists come to the Teche area each year for the competition. This year 28 artists are signed up to compete.

“We’ve seen an increase in the number of applications each year, and we have people coming in from around the country,” she said. “So that’s exciting as well, to be able to invite them to our area, which is so unique, as far as the landscape is concerned.”

See a list of competitors for the event in today’s Teche Life section.

This will be the first visit to the Teche area for Boedges and he’s looking forward to seeing what landscape painting opportunities present themselves, he said. He’ll be scouting locations during the week, and then after the competition will hold a three-day workshop, March 19-21, for people interested in learning about plein air painting.

“I totally enjoy teaching plein air,” he said. “For one thing, I get to be outside. Most of my students, without fail, are highly committed. They really want to learn. They’re ready to be out there, so that’s always fun, you know, you get a group of people who are super-committed to what they’re doing, that’s a fun group,” he said.

Information about the workshop can be found at https://bit.ly/3ttmRI5.

The public is invited to attend programs and events scheduled during the week, as well as watch artists paint.

The public is invited to attend several programs and events during the week and to watch artists paint. Here’s a list of public events:

Essential Elements: A Watercolor Workshop — March 9 & 10

Quick Draw — Saturday, March 12 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Paint Delcambre — Sunday, March 13: Art Talk @ 12 p.m. & Artist Meet & Greet at 5 p.m.

Plein Air Demo — Tuesday, March 15 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Plein Air Demo — Thursday, March 17 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Paint Out — Friday, March 18 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Awards Reception & Fine Art Sale — Friday, March 18 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Workshop with Mark Boedges — March 19-21

Please visit https://www.shadowsontheteche.org/ for more information on events.