Artists’ Gallery Ellicott City Demo 2022
About chris
"You should keep on painting no matter how difficult it is, because this is all part of experience, and the more experience you have, the better it is...unless it kills you, and then you know you have gone too far."
--Alice Neel
Chris Rapa is an American painter, living in Catonsville, Maryland. Her contemporary Impressionist work ranges from conventional still life and landscape, to interior spaces washed in natural light, to collage and mixed media pieces which explore a theme. Recent paintings combine oil, cold wax, and collage elements, to give voice to Chris’ feminist values through vignettes of shared social experiences. Whether capturing a moment in plein air, the simplicity of fruit and flowers, or stitching together poetry and literary quotations in response to current events, Chris strives to make work that is visually appealing, engages the viewer, and opens a dialogue of meaningful conversation.
Exhibiting in national juried shows, and competing in plein air events, Chris has received numerous awards, including First Place in the 2023 Easton Plein Air Quick Draw, non competition artists division, and the First Place “Gino” award, at Paint It Ellicott City, 2023. Chris is a Signature Member of the American Impressionist Society, and an active member of the Oil Painters of America. In 2024, Chris was honored to became a member of the prestigious Washington Society of Landscape Painters.
Professional Memberships & Affiliations:
American Impressionist Society; Signature Member
National Oil and Acrylic Painters
Washington Society of Landscape Painters
American Women Artists
Working Artists Forum
Noteworthy:
2024
2024 Waterfowl Festival Judges Award
2024 Local Color Juried Artist; Judges Award
2024 Annapolis Plein Air - Annapolis Gallerists Association Prize for body of Work
2024 Oil Painters of America National Show Juried Artist
2024 National Oil and Acrylic Painters National Exhibit Juried Artist
2024 Oil Painters of America Salon Show Juried Artist
2024 NOAPS Best of America Small Works Juried Artist
2024 American Impressionist Society National Show Juried Artist
2024 Johns Hopkins Mt. Vernon Show - Spirit of Mt. Vernon Award
2024 Easton/WAF Local Color Juried Artist
2023
2023 Plein Air Easton Quick Draw 1st Place; non-competition artists
2023 American Impressionist Society Signature Status
2023 Adkins Arboretum Plein Air - 1st place
2023 Color Columbia Plein Air - 1st Place
2023 Paint It Ellicott City 1st place, “Gino" Award
2023 Easton WAF Waterfowl Judges Award
2023 NOAPS National Show Plein Air 2nd place
2023 Oil Painters of America National Show Juried Artist
2023 Oil Painters of America National Show, Wet Paint, Studio, 3rd Place
2023 MAPAPA Plein Air 1st Place
2023 American Impressionist Society National Show Juried Artist
2023 Easton/WAF Local Color Juried Artist
2023 National Oil and Acrylic Painters National Exhibit Juried Artist
2022
2022 Harford Plein Air 2nd Place
2022 Adkins Arboretum Plein Air 2nd Place
2022 American Impressionist Society Small Works Juried Artist
2022 WAF Local Color Juried Artist
2022 Waterfowl Festival; Judges Award
2022 Paint It Ellicott City Juried Artist
2022 Tappahannock Plein Air Juried Artist
2021
2021 Paint Annapolis Public Artist Annapolis Gallerists’s Body of Work Award
2021 Oil Painters Of America National Exhibit Juried Artist
2021 American Impressionist Society Associates Online Juried Artist
2021 NOAPS Best of America Small Works Juried Artist
2021 American Impressionist Society National Show Juried Artist
2021 Paint It Ellicott City Juried Artist
2021 Harford Plein Air Juried Artist
2021 WAF Local Color Juried Artist
2020
2020 American Impressionist Society Small Works Juried Artist
2020 Harford Plein Air Juror’s Award
2019
2019 Harford Plein Air 3rd Place
2019 Harford Plein Air Quick Draw 2nd Place
2019 Frank Bette Paint Out Juried Artist
2019 Paint It Ellicott City Juried Artist
2019 Juried Artist MAPAPA Small Works Show
2019 Knoxville Museum of Art Painters on Location Juried Artist
2018
2018 Oil Painters of America Eastern Regional Show Juried Artist
2018 Western Mountain Maryland Juried Artist
2018 Hudson Valley Plein Air Juried Artist
2018 Mountain Maryland Plein Air Juried Artist
2018 Adirondack Plein Air Festival Juried Artist
2018 Knoxville Museum of Art Painters on Location Juried Artist
2018 Oil Painters of America OPA Salon Show Juried Artist
2018 Mint Museum Charlotte Garden Tour Juried Artist
2018 Kent Island Figurative Show 1st Place, Oil