Stephanie Goldman, Juror
Juror Commendations
“Storm Approaching Dry Grounds” by Pat Crowl
This painting is very captivating, and it drew me in right away. It is practically abstract, but it is clearly a landscape. There is so much emotion in it – I can feel the storm approaching! I think this kind of painting is very hard to do, getting the feeling of what is happening with weather in paint without getting too hard-edged or stuck in overdoing the realism. It is wonderfully done.
“After the Rain” by by Susan Weinberg-Harter
The painting has a great feeling as if it is a visual representation of a holiday memory, and anyone who acquired it would love looking at it. It has a wonderful value scale. Although nothing is very dark, the limited palette supports the feeling of atmosphere. It is a beautiful use of watercolor on Yupo paper.
“Pietra d’Lstra” by Lorri Lynch
I have seen a lot of Venice paintings, but never one like this! It creates an atmosphere of celebration. There is a lot going on, but the artist has not gotten too lost in detail. The use of line, simplification of shapes is great, and I love the sparkles that are created by pulling away some of the paint and getting down to the paper.
Honorable Mentions
“To the Point” by Drew Bandish
This is fantastic! The painting features a lighthouse and a beautiful landscape. In addition, there is so much action in the sky and a lot of movement in the foreground as well, the action stabilized by the buildings. The horizontal composition and clarity of color add to the beauty of this traditional watercolor.
“Shipwreck” by Lois Athearn
This is a fabulous boat painting, unusual in that it is a wrecked boat. I love the diagonal composition and the detail in the way the boat is handled and addition of the birds. The use of watercolor is excellent, with some granulation appearing in the sky. It is a very nicely painted traditional watercolor.
“First Things First” by Pat MacLaggan
This is a fantastic abstract. It portrays a coffee cup on a counter, but it is abstractly done. It has interesting elements such as the scribbles. The warm and cool colors play off each other, and the red shadow under the cup is intriguing. The use of paint, texture and abstraction with a hint of realism combine to create a very nice painting.
Honorable Mention, Miniatures
“Weed Thistles” by Donna Arnaudoff
The painting captures a tangle of weeds, yet it has such presence. People would pull this material out of their garden, but the artist has made it so beautiful that you would not want to remove it. There is so much delicacy in all these weeds. It uses a beautiful color palette as well. The more you look at it, the more you notice.
Best of Miniatures
“Family Ties” by Vita Sorrentino
I absolutely love how this painting makes the subject come up from the surface. It feels so rich and deep, like looking into a pond of deep water. Painting something like this is not easy, with so many different elements. I am very attracted to what is going on here with the surface and the depth. It is very exciting.
Best of Theme
“Trying to Connect” by Karen Chin
The design and the color scheme are very well put together, using both primary and secondary colors in a wonderful composition. It is clearly abstract but there is enough realism in it that it has real meaning, with the books in the background of the two people. The addition of the circles is very effective and adds even more interest. Every corner of this very nice painting is different.
Third Place
“Light Connection” by Wanda Honeycutt
This painting has so much great texture and color variation, and it uses so many different materials. I love the Aztec feeling with its sense of a real person connecting with ancient history. Everything centers around the candle flame. It is a fabulous painting because you can look at it repeatedly and see something new each time.
Second Place
“Hiding in Plain Sight” by Roberta Dyer
I love the way this is painted. The color combination is exciting and varied, with the lime green hair, and purples in the stripes. It is a fine combination of simple and complex, especially in the detail of the face with the addition of pencil drawing. A fine juxtaposition of abstraction and realism.
First Place
“America’s Cup Harbor” by Chuck McPherson
This painting has everything going for it: I love the way it is painted, seeming to be flat and dimensional all at the same time. It has a complex composition with a great color scheme, with its background of varied blues and drips. The varied repetition of all the verticals and heights adds to the complexity. It is a beautiful painting and a delight to look at.
