Pastel 100 Winner!

For those of you who don't know, the Pastel 100 is the Pastel Magazine's annual competition where judges choose the best 100 paintings out of thousands of entries (almost 3200 this year!).  There are 30 top prize and place winners and 70 honorable mentions in five categories.  The winners are published in the April issue of the Pastel Journal Magazine.

I'm very happy to announce my painting "Banana Bread" won Fifth Place in the Still Life & Floral category:

"Banana Bread"

9x12"

Soft Pastel

(SOLD)

And my painting "Daily Habit" won an Honorable Mention in the Animal & Wildlife category:

"Daily Habit"

10x25"

Here are the pictures of the magazine pages for those of you who aren't likely to buy the magazine.  As you can see, I'm in excellent company!

Click here for information about the competition.

Best of Show!!

My painting "Old Friend" won Best of Show at the Northwest Pastel Society 2011 Members' Exhibit!

The reception was very well attended (it was packed in there!), and I got to meet some people I have known online for a while but hadn't met in person, which is always fun!

There are many excellent paintings at the exhibit, but my favorite paintings of the show were by Sandy Byers, who won the NPS Director's Award for her painting "Symphony of Swans."  Take a look at these paintings online and you will see how beautiful they are, but it doesn't prepare you for how absolutely stunning they are in person.

If you can get to the Kirsten Gallery to see the show, it's definitely worth it!

BEST IN SHOW!!

Last night was the artists’ reception for the 7th Annual Peninsula Art League Open Juried Art Exhibition. I entered three pieces to the show, but only one got in, so I was feeling lucky to be included. Imagine my surprise when I found my painting had won Best in Show!

"Sunny Spot"

10" x 20"

Soft Pastel on Suede Matboard

My dog got a huge, well-deserved helping of turkey when I got home last night!