1st Place - Louise Powers, "Golden Merry Go Round"

Jennifer says,

As an Impressionistic representational artist, I enjoy a painting for its expression of the subject matter in its most loose and suggestive description as possible. Louise Powers’ Golden Merry Go Round   spoke to me right away. Her brush marks and intricate negative painting are phenomenal.

The composition is wonderful in directing your eye around the intricate pattern.

It has a wonderfully muted palette with just enough accents of color to pop.

2nd Place - Joan Hitchcock, "The Queen on Her  Throne"

Jennifer says,

Joan Hitchcock’s, The Queen on Her Throne, is nearly the opposite in its use of precision and detail. This is one of those paintings I look at in awe and know that I will never be able to focus my time and create that much detail.

She has been able to create a stunning piece with detail and yet has not overly worked the shadows. I love the soft edges on the back of the bird.  Her use of hard edges remains only near the bird’s eye.

The glow of warm colors remains on the front of the creature and not all over, which leads the eye around the piece when juxtaposing next to the warm back ground behind the bird’s back side.

3rd Place - Susie Crawford, "Forgotten"

Jennifer says,

Forgotten by Susie Crawford is a poignant piece of emotional work.  This one speaks to me for her use of black and its starkness involved in the subject matter.  I have not learned to work with black well.  I would have softened edges or combined dioxazine purple and forest green to get a dark, but that would have taken away from the statement of the piece. Her composition is stunning as well. She tackled a hard subject with the starkness it deserves.

"AuTrain Summer" by Linnea Frederick

Jennifer says,

I love painting on a red surface and it is so fun to see the bits of warmth poking out everywhere. The softness of her tree foliage brush marks makes you feel the warm wind drying their edges.

The composition is wonderful in directing your eye around the tall composition. I love the use of warm and cool darks without much black mixed in.

"Sunset at Seville Flat" by Doug Greenman

Jennifer says,

This is another one of those paintings I look at in awe and know that I will never be able to focus my time and create that much detail.

 His use of pattern is exquisite. This is one of those images that would kill me if it were a puzzle I was trying to put together. He has taken a mundane subject matter and turned it into play of intricate patterns.

"Summertime and the Living is Easy" by Marilyn McRobert

Jennifer says,

I love the simplicity of this piece. The story is told without all the distraction of details. The use of complimentary colors and bold contrasting values makes this piece both solid and fun. The asymmetrical horizon line adds a bit of drama to the composition as well.

"Justina" by Sylke Van Niekerk

Jennifer says,

Portraits scare the wits out of me.  This fun portrait is a pleasure to look at and enjoy.  The detail and use of darks only around her eyes make them pop right out and hook you.  The softness of all the extra edges let them ease right into the background.  The horse and chicken must be part of the story and it almost adds to the humor that goes with her eyes.

"Kelly's Girl" by Judy Drewett-Heim

Jennifer says,

This is another one of those that impress me with their use of black, especially in front of all that fun color.  Great detail and softness in the dog’s coat. The composition works well and leads your eye around the large horizontal format.

"Clementines" by Judy Bishop

Jennifer says,

This is a beautifully rendered realistic portrait of fruit.  There is a wonderful composition with the placement of the leaves that leads your eye around the piece. It is a beautiful traditional creation. 

"Red Lights Home" by Jaime Reinhart Smith

Jennifer says,

This is an exquisite portrayal of a busy city scene with just enough detail to tell the story without being overdone. Great asymmetrical composition and just enough complimentary green to let the red-light story be told.

Jaime did a great job of softening those far off edges to ease the transition from an intense value change going on in the foreground.

"Bowman Sunset" by Linda Noyes

Jennifer says,

Bowman Sunset has a wonder glowing effect from low back-lighting that shows her knowledge of values and atmospheric conditions.

I like the fact that I cannot tell if the back-lit object is a picnic table, building or even a piano. It makes me want to know.

“…. Art is - well, I don't know what art is.”

But if it's any good it has something to it that transcends critical reason. That's why all enthusiasm for art falls back on words - from "genius" at the top to a verity of lesser terms like "talent" and "originality" - that don't have a fixed meaning. Art is a kind of magic. It began in caves in the Ice Age, as part of a shamanistic engagement with nature. It is really very primitive - and the one modernist idea that will never die is "primitivism", because every time art really excites us it does so for reasons some might describe as religious, others as ritualistic or psychoanalytical.

Decisions made by art competition judges are circumstantial, subjective, and completely different that those made by gallery owners or their clients. They depend on the circumstances of the particular judging process -- who is invited to serve on the jury of acceptance and/or awards, how the judges are asked to make their selections, whether there is a theme or objective established by the organizers, and how the prizes are structured. 

People who are asked to be art competition judges are usually people who look at artwork all day long as part of their job. They are art magazine editors, art historians, critics, or nationally known artists. They are likely to respond positively to artwork that is unusual or exceptional, not expected or popular. The artwork they select for an exhibition or a prize is probably one that is not very saleable. Collectors tend to buy what is safe, typical, pretty, and comfortable, whereas judges who are rushing through hundreds of slides or digital images will stop to examine pictures that are different and unexpected.

Good art either explores new subjects, or old subjects in a way that hasn’t been done before. There is a happy medium though in finding art that stands out from the crowd but doesn’t use gimmicks or cause distractions.

The best art has meaning beyond just an image; perhaps it will bring you to tears, make you laugh, or remind you of something you’d almost forgotten. It also stands out in a crowd, and dares to be different.

Most importantly (in my opinion) good art is understandable, although it may make you think in ways

you never expected to…..even under a microscope….