Spotlight on Colorado Artists Installed

Juror Joanne Burney, instructor from the Art Students League, was happy to know she wouldn't have to reject any entries. She diligently set about selecting the award winners.

Article by Kathy Berls

Wow - what a show! I'm happy to say that the new exhibit is now up and ready for the opening on Thursday, Oct 6th. For awhile there, there was some doubt as to whether it would all fit. When all the registrations came in, we noticed that there were several three dimensional pieces. Since they don't take up wall space, Barbara Tobiska, exhibits co-chair and I decided we'd take a chance and accept all the entries. We knew it would be a big show, but seemed a great way to end our juried exhibits line-up for 2011. Little did we know that many, many of the works would be really, really, really big! Needless to say, once it was all up, I breathed a sigh of relief. The challenge is always how to group the works together so that each piece has a chance to shine. Grouping the pieces according to color harmony, taking into account sizes and dimensions, the artwork is first placed all around the room to see where it will fit. But, it's not until I actually start hammering in the nails that I can be sure. Now it's done and the results produced a wonderful, exciting and diverse show that is not to be missed. Thank you to all the artists who supported this exhibit and a special welcome to those of you who have entered for the first time.

The winners circle

Best of Show winner: Dragon Tails, a stunning wood piece by Arvada artist Jeff Herring.

 A Special memorial award was presented this year in honor of past member Margwyn Steinbach. The award went to "Flutterflies" by Andy McKelvy.

The walls are full of wonderful artwork, including many 3-d pieces.

Juror's Comments - Award Winners for “Colorado’s Best”

Many thanks to our juror, Mark Silvers, for a wonderful exhibit and inspiring award winners. The following comments were submitted by Mark and we again thank him for taking the time to express his observations.

Best of Show : “Backlit”, acrylic by Shizuko Barbara Hanson
A very beautiful watercolor showcasing the transparent and translucent qualities for which watercolor is admired for. The negative shapes of the background are perfectly balanced. The attention to detail and variety of edges completes the excellent orchestration of colors, values, edges that make this watercolor a beautiful work of art.


Second Place : “Lilies in the Light”, oil by Kathy Berls
This oil painting has a perfect composition arrangement of positive and negative shapes. Every shape of value and color is part of a beautiful arrangement. The slightly stylized realism exhibits interesting brush work and the almost sculptural modeling of the shapes gives the painting a solid well balanced sense of space.


Third Place : “Autumn Spree” , watermedia by Ellen Masters
This painting is a feast of impressionistic of colors and brush work. The abundance of calligraphy like brush strokes moves the viewers eyes gracefully throughout the painting. What could have been chaotic and busy is instead an expression of well balanced serenity and peacefulness.


Merit Award : “Boy Toys” , pastel by Ginger Lecher
For such a cute and sentimental subject this is a very well composed painting. The pattern of dark value shapes moves the viewer’s eye through the painting creating an interesting framework for the colors and lighter values of the figures and their environment. Ginger expertly answered the question, “what is light doing?”

Merit Award : “Victor Victorian, Colorado” , pastel by Karen Hall
The abstract compositional qualities of this painting are great even without knowing the subject matter. A well designed arrangement of values, shapes and textures. Then when you notice the light capturing a figure in the window a whole new sense of mystery and intrigue is added to a great work of art.

Merit Award : “Brass Ensemble”, oil by Susan Becker
This is a beautiful painting of exquisite attention to detail. Susan is obviously a master of realistic painting techniques. The compositional arrangement of the light and dark values perfectly balances the play of cool and warm colors. The handling of reflections and light is expertly accomplished.


(PHOTO UNAVAILABLE)
Merit Award : “Hot Tomatoes” , watercolor and marker by Carla Stoltzfas
This is a great contemporary visual statement of a common subject. The painting displays a strong design of colors and shadow shapes. The reflected color in the shadows adds an interesting interplay of warm and cool colors. A great painting by an artist who has helped the viewer stop and notice the beauty of art in everyday life.