City of Temecula Announces the Winners from the 18th Annual Ralph Love Plein Air Competition

TEMECULA, CA - The Temecula Valley Museum proudly hosted the 18th Annual Ralph Love Plein Air Awards Reception on Friday, September 12, 2025. Temecula's annual Plein Air Competition is conducted in honor of Ralph Love (1907-1992), one of Temecula's most esteemed residents, self-taught artist, teacher, musician and minister. All attendees enjoyed refreshments with lively conversations of the joys and challenges of painting en Plein Air, and live music from guitarist Bob Bozonelos.

The awards ceremony was facilitated by museum staff and awards with supporting speeches were delivered by Temecula Community Services Commission Chair Dr. Yuan Hawkes and Commissioner Liselle Degrave. Awards were as follows:

2025 Award Winners

First Place: "Lorimar" by Debra Gayle Sut

Second Place: "Renzoni Winery/Temecula" by Barbara A. Nordman

Third Place: "Harveston Haven" by Jessica Hashimoto

The anonymous, unsigned pieces were judged at the Temecula Valley Museum by esteemed judges including Community Services CommissionersJeff Kingsberg, Ernest Castro, and Liselle DeGrave, along with the 17^th Annual Competition Winner, Barbara Nelson.

Fourteen artists submitted twenty-three pieces of artwork, in mediums ranging from oil, watercolor, and mixed media. The Winners were announced on Friday, September 12, 2025. To see the winning pieces, visit the City Website TemeculaCA.gov/PleinAir. To view images from the reception, please visit our Flickr Album.

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