Third Place, Parkville in Art 2014
This year's Parkville in Art had a great turn out. Over 130 plein air paintings by 50+ artists were turned in to exhibit for the competition. I can say, the competition "was stiff" ---especially in the oil and watercolor categories. Of the dozen paintings in the pastel category, I was honored to receive 3rd Place for my painting titled "A Stroll Down English Landing." AIS President Debra Joy Groesser was Juror.
The painting that won 3rd Place, I believe was my best out of the three that I have done that week. English Landing Park is one of the iconic scenes in Parkville, nestled along the river banks of the Missouri River. The view that I chose to paint was picture perfect. A river bend with a recreational trail alongside it. Usually when I choose landscapes to paint, I look for that distant view where depth and aerial perspective is most abundant. Instead of focusing on one thing/area with a visual close up, I like to capture the actual landscape and atmosphere of the location as much as possible. Our Midwest landscape can be a challenge sometimes in finding these open spaces (especially with all of our trees in the way)---unlike our western friends with higher hills and purple mountains. Here we have an open skyline. Our river bends and bluffs always seem to hold potential for nice paintings.
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| "A Stroll Down English Landing" 9x14 pastel, 2014 plein air 3rd Place in Pastels - Parkville in Art |
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| Me and my competition, Mike Flora (1st Place winner in Pastels) |
The reception went great. It's always good to see old friends and meet fellow impressionists. Debra Joy Groesser, Missouri Valley Impressionist Society (MVIS) Charter Member and President of the American Impressionist Society (AIS) was there to judge the event. As always, it's good to see her when you have the chance. I finally met (briefly) Michele Wells, pastelist from St. Louis. Michele won Honorable Mention with a very nice night-time painting in the pastel category. That's a challenge not many of us take. Her work came out well. My fellow pastelist Mike Flora came out of hiding---and when he did, he won 1st Place with a beautiful piece. It was well deserved. Vicki Thompson competed with a 2nd Place winner, also well deserved. And my old friends Elaine Lierly Jones and Susan Wilson won Honorable Mentions with some nice work as well. Congratulations to all of you!
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| Debra Joy Groesser and I. |
Cathy Kline did an excellent job organizing and doing preparations. The Parkville Train Depot turned out to be a great space. We broke it in for Cathy, as it will be her new art space. Debra Groesser, what can I say? She's a very busy woman with a tight schedule to keep. We were all glad to see she made time for us with this event and her workshop. Everybody enjoyed her company. She did a great job as juror, especially for a difficult competition as many works were well deserved. We hope to see her at our next MVIS event.
Congratulations to all the winners, and for those of you that are new---a job well done.
Congratulations to all the winners, and for those of you that are new---a job well done.
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| 2014 Award Winners Left to Right: Cathy Kline (organizer), Ken Chapin, Brent Seevers, Mike Flora, Debra Groesser (juror), Greg Summers (below), Becca Orr, Andrea and Adam Clague, Susan Lynn, Richard Sneary, and Teddy Jackson. |
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| 3rd Place in Pastels - "A Stroll Down English Landing" by Brent Seevers |
Art will be on display until November 10th. People's Choice Award voting will take place through that time. All winning entries will be auctioned November 13th, 6-9pm at the National Golf Club of Kansas City. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Feed Northland Kids---Parkville Chamber of Commerce's 2014 charity of choice.
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