Announcing Our 2022 Plein Air Judge!!

A core component of the Gloucester Arts Festival is the impact of Plein Air artists and the immense beauty they capture of our historic village, waterman culture, picturesque waterways, and stunning sunrises and sunsets. 

This year, we are honored to announce that Nancy Tankersley, a founder of the largest and most prestigious Plein air festival in the United States, Plein Air Easton, will be the judge for our gem here on the Middle Peninsula. She will be judging a field of talented artists from across the nations, including some favorites from previous years. 

This year will certainly be full of inspiration, with new venues and familiar faces. Join us in welcoming the judge and artists alike!

More about the judge: Nancy Tankersley began her career as a portraitist but entered the gallery scene with figurative paintings of people at work and at leisure. Currently, as she searches for the unpredictable, Tankersley moves between landscape, figures, and still life. Incorporating non-traditional tools, supports, and technologies for her paintings she remains faithful to her impressionistic style. Active in the current Plein air movement, and a founder of Plein Air Easton, she travels worldwide participating in competitions, judging, and teaching. In 2018, 2019, and 2020 she was invited to be an instructor and demonstrator at the Plein Air Convention in Santa Fe and released two instructional videos with Lilliedahl Videos. In 2016 and 2017 she was invited to exhibit at the prestigious Master’s Exhibition at the Salmagundi Club in NYC. Recent honors include Best of Show at Parrsboro, Nova Scotia International Plein Air 2018, Best of Show at the Lighthouse Plein Air Festival 2017, and the Dickinson Award for Best Painting by a Signature Member of the American Impressionist Society 2016 Annual Juried Exhibit. In 2019 she was selected to be the Featured Artist at the 49th Waterfowl Festival in Easton, Maryland.