“Yi Nationality Old Woman”, 18×24, by Kun Wang, winner of the Best of Show in the NOAPS 2018 Spring Online International Exhibit.

The energetic brushwork and inquisitive expression are just two of the factors that may have propelled this painting to the top of the judge’s choices.  The work is confident, clearly giving the viewer the sense of the model’s personality.

“The Peninsula”, 16×20, by Tony D’Amico is the Second Place Winner in the NOAPS Spring Online International Exhibition.

Tony D’Amico’s rendition of a busy city street corner is a well-constructed painting with a variety of lines, edges and values.  The composition easily leads us around, from the dark lines near the top, to the light post, then around to the orange arrows, keeping the viewer locked into the painting.

“Brimming with Personality”, 20×30, by Carol Lee Thompson, winner of the Third Place Award in the NOAPS 2018 Spring Online International Exhibition.

Expression is the key element in this painting by Carol Lee Thompson.  Each carefully painted dog has its own unique countenance, with overlapping shapes and lost edges to pique the viewer’s interest.

Each painting entered into the Spring Online Exhibition, as with all NOAPS exhibitions, is carefully assessed by an anonymous  jury of selection.  The top scoring paintings, in this case 150 out of 891 , are then chosen to be part of the exhibit.  The paintings are then further reviewed by an impartial judge of awards, who chooses those that he/she feels are most deserving of special recognition.  The subjectivity in judging is impossible to eliminate, but our jurors use key fundamentals and their personal experience to make the most objective choices.

Objectivity and subjectivity aside, what does the artist gain by entering these competitions?  One of the tag lines of NOAPS is ‘Get Recognized’, and that is certainly one of the benefits of showing in an exhibition.  It is also a learning experience.  Just as Michelangelo stated at age 81, “I am learning yet”, we are all still learning.  It is helpful just to see our artwork next to other work, to see how and where we fit in, to see where we can improve, and where we want to go with our work.  When we get rejected, as we all do at times, we can take a step back, and assess what this painting in particular lacked, and where we might improve.  Another benefit is just to see all the creativity and remarkable talent, and enjoy one image after another.  And although we won’t all win awards, in the end it’s really not about the awards at all, but the joy and need to express ourselves in our art, and share it with others.

So Congratulations to the Award Winners, and to all who were accepted, and all who entered.  It takes courage to voluntarily expose ourselves to judgement, and we at NOAPS hope that in so doing, you have gained from the experience.

To view the entire exhibition, visit www.noaps.org and click on the 2018 Spring Online International Award winners/accepted artists.

Written by Patricia Tribastone, NOAPS Blog Director