My entry into the 2019 Burnsville Visual Arts "Art Fete" show at the Ames Center this year started out as just some small experiments in oils. I took three small pieces of plywood, 8x10, and started with a limited pallet of three colors, a different set of colors for each one. These sat around for a long time just getting some attention here and there, but as we started coming up on spring time I realized they might actually turn into something and I started thinking about some sort of frame to hold them all together.
I built the frame out of White Cedar and then charred the whole thing with a torch. Then I had some other pieces I tried to make look like driftwood and inserted them in there. In the end, I was not real happy with the frame, it ended up looking a bit busy, but it worked out as a way to display the three small paintings together.
We ended up having enough space in the show that we were able to allow all of us that volunteer to help put the show together to hang a second piece and so I grabbed this drawing and took it in with me on hanging day. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out at the opening reception that it had won one of the "Awards Of Merit". This was kept from me somehow, (odd because I was the one putting all the awards in the envelopes etc), until the reception and my name was called while I was out at the bar getting a beer...
Anyway, I always say I don't really care about these things but it does feel good to get some additional recognition.
The Judges comments were simply:
"Strong use of value and variation of marks that helped to describe distance, texture, and movement".
