Carmel Awards More than $11,000 in Prizes

The 11th annual Carmel on Canvas plein air event was held Sept. 5 and 6 and featured artists in an open-air painting exhibition and competition which took place on the sidewalks throughout the City’s central corridor.

The event hosted 60 highly acclaimed artists from the Midwest and beyond. The artists competed in a variety of plein air contests during the two-day event, registering in a division that matched their skill or age level: professional, non-professional, teen and youth. Carmel artist and educator Irina Smulevitch of the Carmel Art Education Studio in the Village of WestClay was this year’s judge.

The awards for the 2025 Carmel on Canvas are as follows:

PROFESSIONAL DIVISION
Grand Prize/Best of Show ($3,000) Catherine LaPointe Vollmer, Pottsdam, N.Y.
2nd Place ($2,000) Jeannie Hilfiker, Indianapolis, Ind.
3rd Place ($1,500) Scott Sullivan, Bloomington, Ind.
4th Place ($1,000) Peter Wu, Missouri City, Texas
Merit WinnersBetsy Bird, Indianapolis, Ind.
Melanie Wissel, Carmel, Ind.
Carleen O’Connor Rivera, Munster, Ind.
Mary Ann Davis, Indianapolis, Ind.
Mark Millis, Bargersville, Ind.
Brad Fields, Fishers, Ind.
Jaclyn Schillinger, Westfield, Ind.
Lesley Halflich, Noblesville, Ind.
Emily Winslow, Indianapolis, Ind.
Donna Shortt, Indianapolis, Ind. 

NON-PROFESSIONAL DIVISION
1st Place, Bill Bernard, Carmel, Ind.
2nd Place, Clover Scholl Indianapolis, Ind.
3rd Place, Marie Schafer, Sheridan, Ind.
Merit WinnersLisa Elliott, Indianapolis, Ind.
Alexis Hahn, Fishers, Ind.TEEN DIVISION
1st Place, Ella Guo, Carmel, Ind.
2nd Place, Lena Michalowicz, Fishers, Ind.
3rd Place, Isaac Anthony, Carmel, Ind.

YOUTH DIVISION
Merit Winner, Julie Cao, Carmel, Ind.
Merit Winner, Alison Zhang, Zionsville, Ind.