“Thin Space”, 16×16, Oil by Joel Edwards was winner of “Best Landscape”.

Upon seeing the painting “Thin Space” by Joel Edwards at the Best of America Exhibition in Park City, there could be no doubt it was an award winning painting.  The harmonious colors, the composition and the value structure all read from across the room, and then upon seeing the painting closely there was such delicate brushwork and beautifully layered colors, the painting was truly captivating.  Here is what the artist had to say about his work:

““Thin Space” as an invitation to slow down and take notice of the beauty that is so abundant and yet moves by so quickly.  This can be seen very clearly at sunset, the time between what was and what is to come. The privilege of the painter is to see beyond the obvious physical attributes of a scene and search for the underlying meaning of a place, something outside of what our eyes can see; the time when the veil between the physical and the spiritual is especially thin.”  Joel Edwards.

  “Eyes Closed”, Oil, 30×20, by McGarren Flack was winner of Best Use of Values.

When looking at values and how an artist uses this very important tool in a piece of art, one can consider it in two ways:  either the artist has employed a very wide range of values throughout, or the artist has used a very narrow range of values and expanded that narrow range almost infinitely.  The latter is the approach that our Judge of Awards, Jian Wu, found in McGarren’s work.  The viewer must look very closely to see the minute changes of value, temperature and color in this remarkable piece.  Here is what the artist had to say about the painting:

“I personally love painting skin tones in cool light and warm light. It is fun to explore the various changes in value, color, and saturation. I feel like this painting describes the subtlety of form with cool colors and keeping the value range low almost like she is stepping into the light from the darkness. It was awesome to see I got an award for values, since that was the main focus of the piece.”  McGarren Flack.

  “Dawa”, 14×21, Oil, by Cheng Lian, winner of Best Painting by a Signature or Master Member.

The expression on the face of the small boy in Cheng Lian’s painting asks the viewer to create the story; why does the young face appear anxious?  But the expression was only part of the reason for the prestigious award; our Judge of Awards was impressed by the artist’s handling of light.  The face, in partial shadow, is almost back-lit; an approach in which the artist must find just the right mix of warm and cool skin tones to achieve the desired outcome.  The artist focused the details near the face only, and left the less important areas to the viewer’s imagination.

Consider viewing all the award winning paintings to discover for yourself the characteristics of the painting that made it stand out at www.noaps.org!

Written by Patricia Tribastone, NOAPS Blog Director