More than $11K in prizes awarded at Carmel on Canvas

(From left to right, top to bottom) Grand Prize/Best of Show, Catherine LaPointe Vollmer; 2nd Place winner, Jeannie Hilfiker; 3rd Place winner, Scott Sullivan; and 4th Place winner, Peter Wu. (Photos provided by City of Carmel)

Posted By: The Reporter September 17, 2025

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 welcomed 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, or 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
  • 3rd Place ($1,500) Scott Sullivan, Bloomington, Ind.
  • 4th Place ($1,000) Peter Wu, Missouri City, Texas

Merit Winners

  • Betsy Bird, Indianapolis
  • Melanie Wissel, Carmel
  • Carleen O’Connor Rivera, Munster, Ind.
  • Mary Ann Davis, Indianapolis
  • Mark Millis, Bargersville, Ind.
  • Brad Fields, Fishers
  • Jaclyn Schillinger, Westfield
  • Lesley Halflich, Noblesville
  • Emily Winslow, Indianapolis
  • Donna Shortt, Indianapolis

Non-Professional Division

  • 1st Place, Bill Bernard, Carmel
  • 2nd Place, Clover Scholl Indianapolis
  • 3rd Place, Marie Schafer, Sheridan

Merit Winners

  • Lisa Elliott, Indianapolis
  • Alexis Hahn, Fishers

Teen Division

  • 1st Place, Ella Guo, Carmel
  • 2nd Place, Lena Michalowicz, Fishers
  • 3rd Place, Isaac Anthony, Carmel

Youth Division

  • Merit Winner, Julie Cao, Carmel
  • Merit Winner, Alison Zhang, Zionsville

Purchase Awards

Carmel on Canvas artists have the opportunity to compete for Purchase Awards by painting the sponsoring business’ establishment and winning the listed monetary prize. Purchase Awards paintings are not included in the Plein Air Paint Out. Congratulations to the artists listed below with the participating businesses.

  • Fringe & Form ($400) David Seward, Zionsville
  • Pure Green ($300) Brad Fields, Fishers
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