Mentioned

Mentioned

It was a big week in my art word. The Willamette Valley Lavender Festival concluded (I get a break from purple!) with the show over the weekend. My non-painting friend, Miriam, and I attended the reception Friday night and met up with my painting friends Sandra Pearce, Susan Spears, and  Cathy Cramer. To my shock and delight, I received an honorable mention in the “Open” category.

Honorable Mention for “Wind Over the Lavender”

None of my other art friends received an award, though they entered in the professional category (this is a hotly debated topic I won’t go into now.)

The list of award winners is impressive in both categories. I’m extremely flattered to be counted among them!

PROFESSIONAL DIVISION
1st Place: Tracy Leagjeld, “First Light”
2nd Place: Cathlaen Rehfeld “Cascade Morning Light”
3rd Place: Jennifer Diehl “Sun Over the Field”
Honorable Mentions:
Brenda Boylan, “After lil Lavender”
Dianna Shynne, “Hillsboro Farm House”
Gary Buhler, “Lavender Mt. Hood”
Donna Clark, “Birch Tree Salute”
Ramona Youngquist, “Summer Shade”
Janay Elder, “Last Light on the Farm”

OPEN DIVISION
1.st Place: Elo Wobig, “Joy Ride”
2nd Place: Kristen Horn, “View to Crooked Tree”
3rd Place: Nancy Zhang, “Field of Purple”
Honorable Mentions:
Sandy Shuler, “Down the Path”
Andrea Bab, “Old White Barn, Little Log House and Lavender”
Paula Hansen, “Majestic Oaks and Lavender”
Lynn Wallace, “Invitation”
Tara Choate, “Wind over the Lavender”
Karen Shawcross, “Lavender Sentinels”

SPECIAL AWARDS
Red Ridge Sponsor Award: Diane Holland, “Leaflight”
Kristen Horn Coldwell Banker Patron Award: Dianna Shynne, “Path at Red Ridge”
Art Elements Patron Award: Karen Shawcross, “Halcyon Days”
Chehalem Cultural Center Sponsor Award: Elo Wobig, “Easy Ripples”
Blick Benefactor Award: Daemion Lee, “Lavender Afternoon”

ARTIST’S CHOICE AWARDS
Professional Division: Jennifer Diehl, “Sun Over the Field”
Open Division: Lorretta Lang, “Dundee Hills”

On Sunday my horse-but-not-art friend Debbie and I went up to Emerald Downs for a day of racing and to pick up my paintings from the Equine Art Show. To my job an amazement, “At the River” also received an honorable mention.

“At the River”

The Washington Thoroughbred Breeders Association has not yet posted the list of award winners, and I am too lazy to type them all, but I thought I’d give you a peak at the top three award winners in the watercolor category so you can see how great they are.

It wasn’t a watercolor piece that I fell in love wit, however, but works in acrylic by Kathy Meyer (no available website.)
I didn’t get a picture of her award winner (frankly, it was my least favorite of her three), I did take some detail shots so I could admire her confidence of brushstroke.

WOW!

As for racing, the day was insanely hot. The thermometer said 93 degrees, but it felt a lot hotter. It was so bad, in fact, that after a few races I had to go inside because I was getting woozy. Because of that, I didn’t get as much sketching done as I was hoping to do (mostly mark making) and my pictures are less inspiring than usual.

There are a few that may be turned into paintings, but not too many caught my eye.

I lost $4 and my friend lost $8. We are big spenders. However, I think we won because the traffic coming and going was spookily light. We found out why because on our way home, the area that people would use to turn off to the beach was backed up for miles.

These two big events are in the bag. I submitted my paintings to the American Academy of Equine Art (AAEA), so we’ll see there. I need to submit to Watercolor Society of Oregon (WSO ) and Northwest Watercolor Society (NWWS) and I’ll have made it through the majority of my year goals. A couple more paintings for Paint the Town and it will be back to studio work.

I’d be even more excited if my studio had A/C.