Earlier this month Buffalo Kaplinski won Best in Show at the 25th Plein Air Artists of Colorado (Mary Williams Fine Art) event with his watercolor painting “Sandstone Ranch.”
![](https://americanwatercolor.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/watercolor-painting-Buffalo-Kaplinski-Sandstone-Ranch-scaled-1.jpg)
“I painted this piece at Sandstone Ranch, south of Castle Rock, as part of a plein air event for the Douglas Land Conservancy, “Beauty of the Open Land,” says Kaplinski. “Our state has more scenic spots than we can count! My biographer, Harmon Graves, spent a whole day with me to see how I work – I asked him for some tips on color but he declined, saying he only gives legal advice.”
On winning the top prize, he said: “I just about fainted. What is so special is that my mom’s birthday was earlier in the week and she’s responsible for getting me art lessons at an early age – 9 years old (Yikes – that was 70 years ago).”
Buffalo Kaplinski is on the faculty of the 2023 Plein Air Convention & Expo. Join us there!