An artist’s awards reception was held Friday, August 30, at the RAL Art Center, 19 N. Main Street, Kilmarnock, where the awards were presented. Ron and Cheryl Mihills were co-chairs for this event.
Lisa Boardwine, Labor Day Art Show judge, stated that this show was truly a show for everyone. It was eclectic with a variety of many different genres of art and the work was very impressive. “As artists we try to create our best works always, but some are just more successful and resonate more than others. It is those pieces that are your winners!” she said.
Boardwine is a Signature Artists member of both the Virginia and Baltimore Watercolor societies. She currently teaches her oil and cold wax workshops extensively throughout Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Boardwine awarded Best in Show to Lella Lee Edwards for her mixed media/acrylic, “It Pleases Me.” Boardwine said that this piece was exquisite. “It had masterful control of the medium, while balancing the abstract design with color harmony, the use of neutrals and complex texture.” Boardwine said she was moved emotionally upon viewing it, and could feel the passion of the artist within the work.
Memorial awards were awarded to the following RAL Art Center artists:
Sharon Mundy Memorial Award (best use of media), Harold Burnley photo “Introducing Handsome Harry.”
Jim Hazel Memorial Award (excellence in watercolor), Eileen Tullner watercolor “Feeding Frenzy.”
Don Kennedy Memorial Award (most creative use of color), Patty Richards acrylic “Skipjack.”
Anne Hayes Memorial Award (excellence overall), Barbara Brecher nuno felt hand painted “Lottsburg Date Night.”
Pat O’Shaughnessy Memorial Award (best traditional), Wende Szyperski oil “Morning Run.”
First place awards: Cate Kauffman, oil, “Williamsburg Craftsman”; Doug Mock, watercolor, “Before the Rush”; and Linda Marshall, oil on board, “Transgression.”
Second place awards: Cheryl Mihills, fiber art, “Circles”; Kathleen Noffsinger, oil and cold wax, “Marsh Walker, Heron”; and Joan Robinson, acrylic, “Serendipity II.”
Third place awards: Jacquie Colligan, mixed media, “Teardrop Nebula”; Kathryn Murray, mixed media, “In the French Café”; and Mel Neale, watercolor, “Morning Light-Nantucket.”
Honorable mention awards: Sue Ramsey, mixed media, “Winter Birches”; Anne Vliet, oil print, “Addie’s Cow, 1865”; Ellen Huddy, watercolor, “The Artichoke”; Judy Penry, Nantucket basket, “Panorama”; Gail Weyant, stoneware, “Orbits Lidded Jar”; Sharon Silvia, wood carving, “You Got Me Over a Barrel”; Anne Cotter, mixed media, “Muted Passion”; Brenda Sylvia, wood, wire, sea glass, “Striped Bass”; Barbara Blahuta, mixed media, “A Horse, Of Course!”; and Jan Dobrowolski, jewelry, “Flourish.”
The RAL Art Center Labor Day Art Show will be on display until September 28, Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
