It is with great pleasure that we present here the Award Winners selected by our judge for awards, Valerie Larsen, from among the 59 paintings selected by Sarah Yeoman for our Members Watermedia Exhibition.
You can view all 59 paintings here:
Fall 2020 Members Watermedia Exhibition
Our judge provided sensitively thoughtful and often instructive comments for each of the paintings she selected for awards, as well as for each painting in the exhibition! We have included the award winners’ comments here following the gallery of award winners.
First Place Award: Catherine O’Neill, “House Lights Up”
Organization and simplification of values is the strength of this work
Second Place Award: Pat Fortunato, “Springtime”
Like a confetti show of blooms! You’ve grouped your variations of color and created an interesting negative space.
Third Place Award: Tom Baldwin, “Still Life”
Playing off white and black, with shades of orange; simple structure.
Honorable Mention Award: Brenda Cretney, “Fiddler”
Angles of the pose and the placement to create dynamic negative space make this portrait a winner. Shadowing the face makes the viewer focus on the fiddle.I personally would like to see some subtle color change in the flesh of the hand. It is the part of the painting that is the most alive.
Honorable Mention Award: Jane Stoddard, “Golden Hour”
Monochromatic scheme and values make this so strong. Excellent draftsmanship.
Board of Directors’ Award: Ritvik Sharma, “Schoharie”
You know your aerial perspective. Nice movement through the space.
Margaret M. Martin Award: Audrey Dowling, “We Share the Same Moon”
Nice historical reference to previous painters; playful story.
Judge’s Choice Award: Janis Stanek, “Stars and Sweet Stripes”
Nicely composed super realism. It’s dazzling and difficult to control technically. Refreshing in its mood.
Judge’s Choice Award: Rebecca Maynard, “Behind the Barn”
Dynamic colors and values. Subtle netting adds an additional compositional element.
Judge’s Choice Award: Sandra Tyler, “Summer 2020 No. 2”
Naive; colorful!
Judge’s Choice Award: Frederick Raiser, “Fair Days”
Stylized portrait is striking in its rendering of textures and pattern.