Jim Rehak
I capture the seasonal changes of the landscape through my plein air paintings. My enthusiasm takes me outside to paint fields, marshes, farms, rivers and bays wherever I travel. My interest in art started with comic book illustration at an early age. It was while studying for my BFA at the Maryland Institute of Art that an interest in oil painting emerged. Art has always been a vocation for me- as a portrait and caricature artist in Ocean City, MD during college, art director at a sign company, teacher and freelance court illustrator.
Biography
BEDUCATION
BFA / Maryland Institute of Art / Baltimore, MD/ class of 1978
MEMBER
MAPAPA/ Mid Atlantic Plein Air Painters Association
Rehoboth Art League/ Rehoboth Beach, DE
Art League of Ocean City / Ocean City, MD
PAPCB / Plein Air Painters of the Chesapeake Bay / Easton, MD
2021
Featured Artist /Peninsula Gallery /Lewes, DE
Art on Location Plein Air (Juried) / Knoxville, TN
Oxford, MD Virtual Art Exhibit
3rd Place Public Artist, Annapolis Plein Air / MD
Award of Excellence / Local Color Art Exhibit, Easton, MD
W.S. Corkran Award / Rehoboth Art League Members Exhibit
Artists Paint OC Plein Air / Ocean City, MD
Blowing Rock Plein Air , NC
Chincoteague Plein Air , VA
Honorable Mention / Harford County Plein Air, MD
Best in Show / Paint Dover Plein Air, DE
Tidelands Plein Air / Tappahannock, VA
Plein Air Crisfield, MD
Featured Artist / Bishops Stock Gallery, Snow Hill, MD
PAST AWARDS
Best Nocturne Award / Artists Paint OC, MD / 2020
Award of Excellence / Local Color Art Exhibit / Easton, MD 2019
2nd Place / Artists Paint OC / Ocean City, MD 2019
Best in Show / Art in Bloom Plein Air / Lewes, DE 2019
Achievement Award / Farm to Table Plein Air, PA 2019
Artists Choice Award / Artists Paint OC / Ocean City, MD 2018
3rd Place Quick Draw / Artists Paint OC / Ocean City, MD 2018
1st Place / Brandywine Plein Air / Wilmington, DE 2014
1st Place Quick Draw / Artists Paint OC / Ocean City, MD 2014
1st Place / Paint Berlin Plein Air / Berlin, MD 2013
Published in “100 Plein Air Painters of the Mid-Atlantic “ Hardcover
Artist Statement
Over time I’ve viewed my plein air painting excursions as an opportunity to work on my self. What better situation to practice moment to moment awareness ?
We are continually shaped by the experiences that move through us. Painting allows us to share those experiences.
An artist’s response to nature, light and everything around us can be expressed in paint…and each artist’s response is unique. Plein air painting in particular allows for an intuitive and personal interpretation and has been a good fit for me.