Last week was the first Schulenburg Plein Air Competition and I was invited to participate. Arriving Wednesday morning, sick and pitiful, I spent the week standing in the cold, damp, rainy weather. However; the Organizer, Amanda Danning, was terrific and I watched a Master Painter, Jing Zhao work. Jing is a top award-winning artist, juried into numerous national and International exhibitions and receiving too many awards to list here. I stood behind her while she painted this church interior. I struggled to get the perspective, value, and color right while she nailed it! This was a lesson in humility. She started most of her paintings with a Burnt Sienna underpainting while I started with a white canvas. I couldn't get the values dark enough while she was adding the lights. Her paintings glow with color and her brushwork is a delight to see. It's never too late to learn from a master. This was clearly a "First Prize Painting" but got a "Third" and the second painting below the church got nothing. There is no second-guessing a judge at these competitions.