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CONGRATULATIONS SECOND QUARTER 2024 WINNERS!

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ENTERED.

Judging Statement and Award Comments
Corey Pitkin, PSA, IAPS/MC

Chances are that you’ve read a judge’s statement from an art show before. They usually start with how much of an honor it is to be asked to judge the show, and how humbling it is to be in the presence of so much talent. Somewhere in the middle they tell you how difficult it was to pass judgment on so many amazing works of art. All of this is absolutely true, except for the last one.

Passing judgment on amazing art is what we do every day. You know if it’s right for you in your gut. Do I like this new song or no? Did I enjoy that movie? Was that book worth the time? We even reassess our previous judgments. I don’t think that painting moves me like it did when I was younger. It’s this conglomeration of the works that you said yes to, that you choose to let influence you, that defines your taste. Your taste directs the artwork that you choose to make. When I feel like my work is getting stale I always go back to these things: for fresh insight, a different perspective than I brought last time, sometimes even just to remember what it felt like the first time I experienced the work. To be awed.

The difficult part of judging an art show isn’t the judging. It’s having been on the other side and knowing how many times this piece was judged before it left the easel. Every color choice, every mark: judged. I know the contortions that an artwork goes through, the alternative takes that get burned off one by one until it is either declared finished or abandoned. The difficult part of judging is knowing that everyone who submitted took the leap to ask for one more session of judgment, to put their work and themselves out for someone else to take a look at their work and hopefully say: I like that.

Corey Pitkin, PSA, IAPS/MC
Dakota 2nd Quarter 2024 Competition Judge
 

ESTABLISHED ARTIST WINNERS
 
FIRST PLACE
Susan Lyon
Glorious		 SECOND PLACE
Roberta Condon
The Veil of a Fog		 THIRD PLACE
Andrew McDermott
Raining in Vancouver		 FOURTH PLACE
Zartakshtai Babai
Kaka
 Honorable Mention
Christopher Copeland
March Thaw		 Honorable Mention
Aaron Schuerr
Coastal Abundance
           
Honorable Mention
Fabio Cuffari
Pieta		 Honorable Mention
Elena Degenhardt
Whirlwind		 Honorable Mention
Darcie Roberts
Namaste		 Honorable Mention
Lisa Rico
Jakazena		 Honorable Mention
Leslie Hamilton
Portrait of Grace		 Honorable Mention
Barbara Berry
Carrie in Green Light
           
 

1st Place - Established:
Glorious
The light on this is so expertly rendered that you almost miss the wild bits of color. At first glance this ghostly Madonna appears to be almost monochrome and very classically rendered, but on closer inspection you see that her face is only the calm oasis in a sea of energetic mark-making and bold color choices.

2nd Place - Established:
The Veil of a Fog
“This piece expertly demonstrates the versatility of pastel. Parts come close to appearing like a watercolor and yet are still distinctly pastel. Other passages are more graphic, unafraid to be the drawing marks that they actually are. Many active parts assembled into a very passive landscape".

3rd Place - Established:
Raining in Vancouver
“Gorgeous imagined color combines with active marks and disorienting passages of softness that capture the frantic energy of driving through a busy city in a rainstorm. Surprisingly the protagonist of this piece is the lights, not the cars. The hardest edges exist in the reflections closest to the viewer, that sliver of a white lane marker, and in the cluster of whites and yellows right in the heat of the traffic."

4th Place - Established:
Kaka
“The face on this portrait is of course brilliantly rendered, with his welcoming eyes and a smile that betrays that bit of awkward feeling we get when we pose for someone, be it for a painting or a photo. What pushed this piece over the top for me was the patterning on his head scarf. Simple and directly applied, it says everything that it needs to about the movement and feel of the fabric without overstating or pulling too much attention away from the painting's subject.”


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EMERGING ARTIST WINNERS

 
           
FIRST PLACE
Nancy Chen
Splendidly Dressed		 SECOND PLACE
Fang Sullivan
Man in Vest		 THIRD PLACE
Matt Kestner
Kayla in White Boots		 FOURTH PLACE
Clint Howard
Memory of Youth		 Honorable Mention
Molly Ann Cooley
Venus		 Honorable Mention
Stephanie Brown
Goldenrod, Golden Hour
           
Honorable Mention
Maura Casorio
Lookout Point		 Honorable Mention
Resa Grogan
Lone Driftin' Cowboy		 Honorable Mention
Sandra Obrien
Serene		 Honorable Mention
Mike Ishikawa
Quiet Solitude		 Honorable Mention
Masoud Habibyan
Crimson Voyage		 Honorable Mention
Hannah Leach
Bica
 

1st Place - Emerging:
Splendidly Dressed
“The intensity of color in this portrait belies the calmness of the model’s expression brilliantly. You can feel the excitement and chaos of the festival that you are given just enough information to know is swirling around her, and yet she remains unflappabl..”

2nd Place - Emerging:
Man in Vest
“A gorgeously painterly portrait. The local flesh color is a slightly exaggerated yellow ochre that vibrates against the violet and violet-grays that make up the cool palette. Expertly rendered with a distinct attention to structure and the turning of form."

3rd Place - Emerging:
Kayla in White Boots
“This piece brilliantly illustrates the power of shapes in painting. Using a nearly monochrome palette, the artist juxtaposes the organic shapes of the sitter against the geometric shapes of the environment. The rendering is loose and yet specific, with the colored pattern on the skirt adding a necessary pop of energy to a stoic composition."

4th Place - Emerging:
Memory of Youth
“Rich cerulean blues provide stunning contrast against dark, hot oranges in this sensitively described waterscape. The warm color of the rocks guide the viewer’s eye down from the active and churning top of the piece down to the cool, clam passages at the bottom."

DAKOTA STAFF PICK

Dakota has the unique privilege of supporting artists in their artistic journey every day. The Staff Pick is an Emerging artist who has made strong choices in design, color, and composition, and is taking great strides in their use of the pastel material. This quarter we congratulate Jetta Williams - keep painting!

WINNER
Jetta Williams
Deep Blue Hunger		          

 

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