Members' Showcase - October 2010 - Judge's Comments on Award Winners

Some thoughts from the juror about things to consider when viewing a work of art

All artists have the potential for greatness. The most important thing that an artist must develop is a personal vision. To be powerful it must be personal. The artist draws the viewer in by the boldness, the subtlety and the beauty of the vision. This isn’t something that can be acquired superficially. It comes over time, or in a flash, through insight and observation. So be attuned to the oddball, unusual or possibly awkward and misshapen thing you might create, even by chance or accident. Don’t reject it out of hand for being "too different" but follow where it leads.

It is very important to be engaged with the materials. There is an intimate relationship between the artist and the tools and materials. Explore this, using the materials to their fullest potential, allowing them to express themselves in line, mark and wash, in color harmonies and range of values.

The artist must draw the viewer into the work of art and entice them to look more closely. To do this there must be good composition and design. There must be balance and harmony of the elements of the composition; figure and field, relationship of lines and shapes to the picture plane, value and color. Through these harmonious elements, working in concert, the artist draws the viewer into intimate contact with the art with an invitation to stay and explore.

Louise Lieber, artist

Juror comments on award winners

Best of Show - #9- Mindy Z. Colton "Unbridled Spirit: Race Horse Memories"

She has captured the character of the horse, lithe, graceful, full of energy, caught, stop action, running full tilt. The sculpture is built with finesse and vigor, using a variety of materials in harmony with each other.

First Place - #132- M.S. Reynolds "Tech Talk"

There is energy, movement and vitality in this abstract painting. Odd shapes in bright colors, emerge from the white field. We understand the process because we can see the record, the rich history of how it was created, by layering the paint and painting over and scraping through. There is much variety and subtle elements.

Second Place - #74 – Rafael C. Torres "Leaving it Behind Us"

The composition draws you in to this photograph with the overall view of sky, ocean and shore, and of the compelling relationship between the sand sculpture of a large cross built into the shore and the receding figures of two children and a woman. The photographer has captured the moment and there is much to savor, much to contemplate.

Third Place - #55 – Richard Mark Johnson "Philip Glass, Philip Water Glass"

An interesting composition is set up by having two drawings, variations on a portrait, displayed one above the other with a handwritten title at the bottom. There is a funny play on words in the title giving rise to many mental permutations as we compare the straight forward portrait above to the one below, dissolving in water. There is a subtle use of the charcoal in the rendering of the two images.

Achievement Awards

#124 – Linda Knight "Branching Out"

This relief sculpture, using found objects, is a bold structure that contains and compartmentalizes twigs; orderly twigs, with all the wonderful variety that nature has. Geometry and the organic in harmonious juxtaposition and a slip of paper, a poem, brings yet another dimension.

#88 – Laura Robinson "Ocean I"

The composition of this painting is simple and elegant. The receding horizontal bands of surf have a calming effect. And, at the same time there is vitality, activity. The process of laying down the paint shows clearly. There is a parallel experience; we envision the surf and we have the tactile sense of the brush strokes of paint.

#97 – Robert DeLaurentis "Morning Paper"

In this painting, we are drawn in by the figures, interested in the two men each reading their morning paper. It is a simple moment captured. The color harmonies, the details keep us involved. The pattern of the chair backs is a subtle, interesting structural framework that holds the composition together.

#101 – Gretchen Nass "Landscape"

This is a painting of big spaces and simple forms. A sense of light emanates from the center. The colors, all warm oranges and yellows, have subtle differences in value and texture. There is the stabilizing diagonal shape at the top of the canvas that leads us to the wonderful vertical drips, both ethereal and structural.

Recognition Awards

#111 – Marta Crawford "Golden Years"

There is a mystical glow of light that permeates the pictorial space of this small, delicate painting. Even the white cloth on which the two eggs are balanced has a glow. The two eggs gracefully lean against each other. There is a beautiful harmony in the simplicity of this composition.

#133 – Betty Morris Parker "Lace Maker"

In this collage of painted paper, the shapes, created by the process of rubbing away and revealing underlying colors, is so much like the process of nature that erodes and reveals. There is a wonderful sense of scale, as we move closer to the work, to see the smallest shapes, so far away. In the floating open space of white, we envision the large world beyond the containment of the frame.

#122 – Katherine Searle Acevedo "De Colores, Richard"

The colors are wonderful in this simple, elegant figure drawing. There is a graceful flow to the line and a bold gesture that defines the pose. Color is a strong element. The composition is harmonious.

#95 – Barkalow/Baldwin "Between the Lines"

In this mixed media piece, there is an interesting combination of collage and photography. The woman, hanging the wash, with a colored hair clip and the floating band of fabric like pattern superimposed on the scene creates a multidimensional aspect to enjoy, the details, the relationships.