MY PAINTING HAS WON AN AWARD!
It is always exciting to create a new piece, but when it wins an award it becomes even more special! Every year the St Augustine Art Association has a two-month exhibit called "FANTASTIC FLORIDA" which features artwork centered on our state. The artwork can be 2 or 3-D, of flora, fauna, history, sites, people, anything that highlights our state. It is popular and highly competitive. Each is allowed to enter 2 pieces that must be juried into the show.
This year, I decided to focus on the sea and the swamp. My first was a view "OVER THE DUNES" to a morning sunrise. The colors are mainly blue-gray and golds and measures 24 x 36. It seemed to be very popular as I watched people viewing the display of art. However, it is not the piece that won the award.
24 x 36 - oils
The piece that I am most proud of and won the award is my piece called 'SOL SEEKERS" a painting of a Florida cypress swamp depicting the sunrise through on a foggy morning with the animals as they begin their day. It measures 22 x 28.
"SOL SEEKERS"
22 x 28 - oils
I chose these sizes as I had a couple of really nice frames that I wanted to use for this show. They had been custom ordered by someone and never picked up, which allowed me to get a great deal. Anyway, the frame for the dune painting is rough gold with a burgundy enhancer and the other is brown and looks like cypress. I chose the colors for the paintings to compliment the frame. You may not be aware, but I have been told a few times by people in the know that your frame is as important as the painting itself! If the judge cannot decide between two paintings, often the better frame wins it.
I took my time planning, drawing, and painting each one so as to get the best result possible and it certainly paid off. Even though I didn't get "best-in-show", I made it to fourth place out of over 200 top-quality submissions and that makes me very happy!
