First Annual Online Exhibition Celebrating DWS 20th Anniversary
I would like to thank the Delaware Watercolor Society and its leaders for asking me to judge your exhibition. I enter lots of shows myself … so I know how important this is to everyone who entered, and I treat this task with the utmost of respect and care. It truly is a great honor and I approach this task with great seriousness and humility and respect for each painting.
When judging an exhibition, I always approach it with a sense of openness, curiosity, and focus. I view each entry multiple times, and I change up the order of viewing, to see each entry in a different context. The paintings are always presented in a certain order, perhaps determined by the order in which they were submitted. I always look from the top to bottom of the list, and then reverse the order, so I see all the paintings in a new and fresh context. I study each painting close up and as a small thumbnail, so that I can appreciate its subtle surface qualities, as well as its entirety.
I look for good design, which is extremely important, strong draftsmanship, well organized values, and expressive color. I love to see a painting that tells a story, expresses a mood, and makes me feel an emotion or the desire to dive in deeper to explore it and experience it some more. I am open to, and appreciate ALL subjects and all styles, and watercolor is suited for just about everything!
You might find it curious that I do not consider technical skill to be at the top of my list. We all know that getting watercolor to behave and cooperate is a challenge, but I believe that those other attributes are ultimately more important. However, I will say that if I see overworked, muddy passages, or certain other technical shortcomings, or serious design flaws, I will notice them, and they might result in the loss of an award.
And then there is the WOW factor. When I look at a painting and the word “Wow!” escapes my lips … sometimes along with the thought, “I wish I had thought of that,” or “I wish I could do that,” then I know that the WOW factor is seriously at work. And the WOW factor surpasses all!
I only had six awards to designate. If your painting did not receive an award, please do not be overly discouraged. In fact, it is better to take this as a challenge! Study art every chance you get, make art whenever you can, take some risks now and then, look carefully at the award winners, and your work will grow … and ultimately win awards!
So let’s talk about the awards. I will start with the three merit awards, listing them in alphabetical order using the artists’ last names.
Joan Judge – “The Color of Cold”
This artist has expressed the cold, moisture laden air, perhaps at the start of a snow storm, the icy water, and the harshness of winter. I do not use the word harsh in a negative way. Winter can be a harsh time. This painting does not show gentle hills covered by fluffy pristine snow, just waiting for happy children to start playing in it. Rather, it really looks really cold and a bit foreboding – – but it is also beautiful in its own seasonal, wintery way. It makes me feel cold. It makes me want to go to the tropics. But it makes me FEEL. That earns it an award.
Catherine Walls – “Rowboat”
This artist has done a fine job painting the movement and the translucency of water, as well as some lovely, dark reflections. She has used a variety of cool colors in the water as well as a variety of edge types, to describe the gentle movement created by waves and wind. A touch of warmth inside the boat creates some nice contrast with all the cools surrounding it.
Winifred Way – “ Miss Bettise”
This is a very fine portrait, loosely painted and yet quite descriptive and solid. I love that blue eye! How bold, and slightly risky! And the blues in the cast shadows, gorgeous! The woman stares straight out at us, looking at us, as intently as we feel compelled to look at her.
Third Place: Isabel Pizzolato- “Onion Harvest”
This is a beautifully drawn and impeccably painted still life. The forms are all convincingly round and solid, and I like their contrast with the roots and fibers, and the empty skins, which are so delicate and thin. The large cast shadow is an intriguing shape, and I am very happy that the artist cropped part of that cast shadow out of the left side of the painting, so that the positive shape would not be left floating in the midst of all that white space. That was a good design decision which made a huge difference in the overall composition.
Second Place: Grover Langshaw – “Standing Proud”
This painting, to me, tells a great story, a nice quiet moment, maybe the bird is looking for a meal or a partner. But I like the quietness. Our world has been terribly noisy lately and I am enjoying this painting. It lets me relax, it lets me breathe. More specifically, I do like the way the artist has painted the weathered texture and color on the fence, and I like the way the artist has varied the heights of the fence posts. I also like all of the varied green bands of different growing stuff in the background – all different hues of green, all slightly grayed down and subtle, to add to that quiet, contemplative feeling. Yes, once again, this is a painting expressing a feeling and it make me feel something too, as a result.
Before I announce the First Place winner, I just want to say that this is one of those elusive WOW paintings. In fact this might be the biggest WOW I have seen in quite a while. No kidding! This painting is bold and bodacious, loose where it needs to be loose, tighter where a bit of description is needed, and filled with color that just makes me sing with joy!
OK, whose is it?
First Place: Leo Kahl – “Fresh Crabs”
Check out that huge red roof. Bold, intense, powerful, dramatic! Oh my, that RED is awesome! And look at the way the artist has lost the edge of that RED roof on the right side, right into the reddish sky. Gorgeous! And then those little pops of red in the people, in the water, on the boats. I would really like to know what the artist chooses as his red pigment. Perhaps he’ll send me an email and share his secret sauce, the name of his red. But you know it’s not just the brand of red paint or the specific pigment name on the tube – – it is the hand and the mind of the artist, placing that red in just the right places, with such confidence and such expertise, that creates the magic. There are lots of other wonderful things about this painting – for example, all of the small abstract strokes in the foreground grass and the water reflections, the loosely painted suggestions of people, boat details, and birds. This is truly one of those paintings that hooks me right in. I can’t look away. I don’t want to look away. I want to keep studying it, to drink in the big story, the subtle nuances, the energy.
CONGRATULATIONS, Mr. Kahl and Congratulations to all of the other award winners! And once again, thank you to Delaware Watercolor Society, your officers and Board Members for asking me to do this for you. By the way, I think you have a really terrific organization! I follow your shows and your activities online, and you know, for a small state and probably a small pool of watercolor painters, DWS is really BIG in its commitment to make lots of opportunities to learn and exhibit and to create a community for its members. DWS, you are a WOW among watercolor societies!
the First Place Award is reciprocal from the Baltimore Watercolor Society.
'Fresh Crabs' by Leo Kahl 14.5x18 $695