Anton Nowels wins Best of Show at Sedona's Plein Air Festival

Mountain Trails Gallery Sedona is proud to announce painter Anton Nowels was awarded Best of Show from Kelly Kane, the editor-in-chief of Plein Air Magazine; as well as receiving an Honorable Mention by plein air master and judge Bill Cramer for the Quick Draw at this year's 21st Annual Sedona Plein Air Festival sponsored by the Sedona Art Center. “It was my first visit to Sedona, but certainly won’t be my last,” Kelly Kane says. “The red rocks were a knockout, of course, but so was the work created at this year’s festival. I was thrilled to meet a number of artists, like Nowels, who are pushing boundaries, breaking expectations, and expanding the language of plein air. I look forward to introducing them to Plein Air readers in issues to come.” The Sedona Plein Air Festival was held during the week of October 20-26, 2025.

Traditional/contemporary Western painter Anton Nowels expresses his fascination with the engaging nature of color and space in his blended representational/abstract paintings. Within the chosen format is also complex patterns of shape and color with gradations of light and dark interacting with each brushstroke. And, by magic or confident skill, Anton makes them interlock and make sense as a landscape. The closer you look the more abstract, and the farther away, one's perspective joins all the elements into a marvelous story of place. "I create these works outdoors combining what I see with memory and invention." - A.N.

Cathedral Sunset 24 x 24 oil by Anton Nowels available at Mountain Trails Gallery Sedona

Golden Sunset 24 x 24 oil by Anton Nowels available at Mountain Trails Gallery Sedona