| | Finalist
Award Sponsor: Raymar Art
Judge: Amery Bohling
Approaching Storm: Brocolli Harvest by Warren Chang
30 x 40 Oil
Judge's Comments: I really like the mood of this painting. It has a tonal quality that harmonizes the painting and its mood. The figures are also very well done. I appriciate the amount of attention that was paid to each character and how it wasn't over done to keep the group from blending into the background. All in all there is a nice use of brush technique, composition, drawing and color harmony.
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| | Finalist
Award Sponsor: Raymar Art
Judge: Amery Bohling
Metamorphosis by Margret Short
12 x 12 Oil
Judge's Comments: Its the lace that caught my eye first, then the nice blue color of the pitcher. I like how the artist handled the detail work, and balanced realisim with a impressionism. It also has a unique and interesting layout.
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| | Finalist
Award Sponsor: Raymar Art
Judge: Amery Bohling
Soho #2 by Jim Beckner
22 x 28 Oil
Judge's Comments: The pattern-like composition in this painting is what caught my interest. Its no easy task to keep so many objects from overwhelming the piece, he really had to have worked to keep his values and colors on point. There is also a fun rhythm in his brisk use of the brush.
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| | Finalist
Award Sponsor: Raymar Art
Judge: Amery Bohling
Wild Places by Chuck Law
18 x 24 Oil
Judge's Comments: I suppose I have a soft spot for artists who can paint mood or emotion, and when looking at the painting one enjoys both qualities. These traits are brought out by his keen use of color and value followed by his flattering S composition.
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| | Finalist
Award Sponsor: Raymar Art
Judge: Amery Bohling
Harvest by Nancy Guzik
36 x 48 Oil
Judge's Comments: She has a beautiful, intelligent, brush work in this painting. Its always important to have a good sense for lost and found edges along with intention for all of your strokes. Nothing is haphazard here. It is a very tricky and busy subject matter but it doesn't feel lost nor does it confuse the viewer. She also has nice color. I love the complimentary color play between the oranges and purples
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| | Finalist
Award Sponsor: Raymar Art
Judge: Amery Bohling
Morning Market by Susan Ploughe
15 x 30 Oil
Judge's Comments: One of the hardest things about painting a market scene is not to just paint black shadow and white lights. This painting uses lovely almost high-key palette of colors. It lends to a nice feeling of sunshine and warmth. There is no washed out anything and no blah black. I also like the simple figures and how every subject involved contributes to the overall composition of the painting.
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| | Finalist
Award Sponsor: Raymar Art
Judge: Amery Bohling
Temptation by Keming Shen
24" x 32" Oil
Judge's Comments: This painting is very playful. The colors are vibrant, the composition is balanced and the subject is fun. I love the use bright blue paint against warm colors. The artist also didn't let the grass turn in to blurry mud but kept its personality definition. It's a neat painting.
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| | Finalist
Award Sponsor: Raymar Art
Judge: Amery Bohling
The Old Candy Shop by Trent Gudmundsen
30 x 20 Oil
Judge's Comments: Interior paintings can be tricky. Painting wood with out having it look colorless deserves extra points. The artist used a good grip on value, color, perspective and planes to achieve his successful result. I also enjoyed how his people are handled with a fun gestural style that keeps things fresh and lively.
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| | Finalist
Award Sponsor: Raymar Art
Judge: Amery Bohling
Aurora by Craig Srebnik
18 x 24 Oil
Judge's Comments: Craig's painting has a lovely color palette and a gental balance of light and dark. He also has a unique composition with the curved figure and the dark sheets in the left side of the painting. It keeps the eye on her but invites you to view the rest of the piece. The use of pink on the pillow is also successful it plays well with the cool light color of the sheets.
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| | Finalist
Award Sponsor: Raymar Art
Judge: Amery Bohling
Walking The Line by Elizabeth Pollie
24 x 30 Oil
Judge's Comments: It's hard to miss this painting. It's a horse carriage at the docks. There is also a great feeling of atmosphere and depth. This can be tricky when painting a subject with so little sunlight involved. She did a nice job on the expressions on the horses and figure. She kept it soft and not overdone or stiff. I also like play of reds and greens on the boats and wall.
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| | Finalist
Award Sponsor: Raymar Art
Judge: Amery Bohling
Golden Glow by Ned Mueller
12 x 16 Oil
Judge's Comments: I love how this painting works. He did a great job arranging the trees and not lining them up perfectly spaced. Each trunk is different from the other. The two fallen tree's nicely guide you back into the painting and beyond into the scene in behind the trees. The colors are also really great. Wonderful warms and gold yellows in front with cool greens and blues in the background. It really brings the trees forward.
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| | Finalist
Award Sponsor: Raymar Art
Judge: Amery Bohling
Catalina Island by Michael Situ
18 x 24 Oil
Judge's Comments: This is a lot of confidence and skill in this painting. I love how each color is bright and full of pigment. Nothing comes off as muddy or dull. I also enjoy the way he looses and keeps his edges. This with color and composition lets the viewer sink into the painting and not get stuck on any one area for too long. Subjects guide and melt you into all zones. He also employes good separation of Lights and Darks.
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