The Shadows-on-the-Teche saw 25 artists from across the country come to compete in the Plein Air Quick Draw and Paint Delcambre events this weekend.

Saturday afternoon, starting at 3 p.m., artists had two hours to paint a scene in downtown New Iberia. Several artists chose to paint the streets of the district, while many others chose to paint at the Shadows.

After a tense session, Missouri-based artist Chris Willey took second place, while California-based artist David Savellano took first. This is Savellano’s first year at the competition, and, as a watercolor artist, he joined a growing shift towards the medium in the Plein Air event. According to Willey, the event previously focused entirely on oil painters, but opened the event up to watercolors in recent years. At first, the watercolor artists were few and far between and rarely won, but as they shifted to make up roughly 40% of the artists, they began winning more often, sometimes more than the oil painters.

Savellano chose to paint the Shadows-on-the-Teche from the front lawn, and despite it being a stark, shadowless day, he managed to capture a specific light direction with the painting. According to Adrianna Speer, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette liaison, who judged the competition, she chose Savellano’s piece for his sense of light and how he creates shadows, along with his ability to capture so much detail in such a small physical and time frame.

“I was just in a groove,” Savellano said.

The following day, starting at 8 a.m. artists gathered at the pavilion used by the Delcambre Seafood and Farmers Market and scattered from there. While most of the artists chose to paint boats around the storied docks of Delcambre, many others ventured out for unique paintings. One such person, Lisette McClung, found a particular barn south of the town, and while painting it, was approached with curiosity, by the owner. He explained that many people wanted hundreds to tear the barn down, but his grandfather had built it, so he couldn’t bring himself to go through with the task. He then reserved McClung’s painting to purchase later in the week.

That night, at 6 p.m., the group gathered for dinner under the farmers market pavilion and they shared the paintings they had made across Delcambre. Unlike the quick-paint event the day before, many of the paintings were more intricate and detailed, having had several hours to work on the pieces.

Plein Air has additional events scheduled throughout the week until Saturday, where people can attend the gallery and purchase whichever paintings they choose. For more information on upcoming Plein Air events, visit the Shadows-on-the-Teche Website at www.shadowsontheteche.org/for-public.