2021 Competition Judge

Kenn Erroll Backhaus is the most nationally accredited Bucks County, Pennsylvania Impressionist living today. He is a Master Level Artist in both the Oil Painters of America and the American Impressionist Society. He is a member and past President of the Plein Air Painters of America, the oldest and most prestigious plein air organization in the country. He has also achieved Signature Member status, the highest level, in the California Art Club, one of the oldest and most active art organizations in the country. His paintings have won numerous awards, including Best in Show, Collector’s Choice, Master’s Award of Excellence, and Artist’s Choice Awards. His work has been included in several museum shows.

Kenn was one of the host artists in the APT Television Series, Passport and Palette and the PBS Series Plein Air, Painting the American Landscape. Kenn was featured in the Plein Air Magazine’s June/July issue, 2016.  In addition, his painting graced the cover of Plein Air Magazine in the fall of 2011, and his work also appeared in an article in March of 2012. His paintings were recently published in two books, Art of the National Parks, in 2013 and in the book, 100 Plein Air Painters of the Mid-Atlantic in 2014.

In November of 2014, Kenn was invited, along with 9 other artists, on a painting trip to China by Chinese-American Master Artist, Zhiwei Tu and the Zhiwei Tu Museum of China. This trip proved to be a great honor and a very humbling experience. Kenn is very passionate about the historic traditions of representational painting and has given back to the profession for over twenty years in various educational programs and workshops. Kenn continues to look for new opportunities to foster the arts and is currently involved through the internet with on-line educational programs. Kenn’s experience has long been recognized, and he has been asked to judge numerous national shows.

To learn more about Kenn and see more of his work, visit his website and follow him on Instagram.