“Emerging Free”
Juror Carol Mansfield
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Juror Commendations
“Organic” by Jennifer Grisard Ludwig
An eye-catching, amusing and delicious painting. Maybe the current trend toward organic produce will make some results look quite strange. This is a most unusual super strawberry, or else a very close view. The color, composition, and apparent scale of this fruit portrait makes it a highlight of paintings to enjoy. Great depth and delicate attention to details!
“Coming in on the Bait Barge” by Chuck McPherson
A beautiful, relatively quiet seascape, with a strong sense of vertical movement. The composition moves with texture and color transitions into the wharf along with the seagulls and the cool to warm color fields. The horizontal focus features the boats and buildings and a beautiful view of an interesting location. You want to be there.
“Break Point” by Lynette Bredow
Interpretation of this painting may certainly depend on the viewer. It is a painting of strong contrasts bringing forth the many meanings of the title Break Point. Is it a moment of struggle or a moment of casual relaxation? This may be a contemplative study of bright light or dark shade. Maybe a juxtaposition of opposite feelings. The splash could be comically wry or a final desperation. It is a complex story to be written and a beautifully composed painting.
Honorable Mentions
“Cheese Mine” by Tim Coleman
A sense of a both realistic and imaginary space is evoked all at once. This painting has strong color harmony, deep space to the moon and back, great perspective, and intensified by light and dark variations. There is also an intriguing human presence as the focus. We get a sense of place — but where? It could be studied for a long time. Orbital green cheese or dairy?
“A Stroll” by Mohamed Ibrahim
An urban landscape with a quiet and rainy, soft and structured composition. This painting evokes a wonderful sense of place with an atmospheric quality. The depth of scale and layered space is intensified by the human presence and architectural. details, both close and far. The attention to craftsmanship is impressive.
“Welcoming a New Family Member” by Helen Hayes
This quiet and cozy painting has a very loving and personal feeling. The variety of organic shapes and soft colors are woven into a strong composition. The large areas surround a focus on the smaller details, telling a family’s and dog’s happy story. It all adds up to an ageless home portrait.
Honorable Mention, Miniatures
“Reaching to the Sky” by Ann Slater
The upward movement and layered composition makes a small painting dynamic and extraordinary. This is beautifully painted with color shading, light and dark definition, sinuous compatible shapes, and subtle depth of dimension. Exemplary focus and craftsmanship is evident.
Best of Miniatures
“Dog Wash” by Cheryl Dicus
The movement and energy in this delightful painting certainly gets our attention. It is a demonstration of action, motion, and strong painting — we can feel the strength of movement and energy created by dynamic light and dark contrast. It is definitely “in the moment” and joyful.
Best of Theme
“Winged Expression” by Wanda Honeycutt
This portrait of two of our proud feathered friends encourages us to examine the sharp details in pattern and texture closely. The strong shapes and color contrasts of the avian subjects make a strong statement superimposed on the distant urban setting. It’s fun to see and enjoy.
Third Place
“Swirling” by Jean Silva
This is a soft, evolving and magical acrylic painting — flowing and impressionistic in its simplicity. The soft transitions and variations of color are overlaid with ambiguous subjects and shapes — at once conjuring a distant landscape and a contemporary still life. It has a very poetic feeling.
Second Place
“Blue Glasses Reflecting Golden Pears” by Susan Keith
This beautiful watercolor sings of an arrangement of light and shadow patterns and shapes — exalting the elegance of a simple subject. It has strong values as well as a seamless sense of color, detail defined by a deep dark background, and subtlety in an eye-catching composition. It demands attention.
First Place
“A Dream is a Dream” by Gigi Woodward
This painting has a curious reality. It is a strong composition with a wide variety of mixed media — drawing, painting, collage and many translucent mysterious layers. It is full of subtle color changes , imaginative shapes, and story-telling dream inspirations. It will be a long-lasting memory and deserving of careful thought.
