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My painting "One Race" won Best in Show Sunday at the Art League of Daytona Beach Annual Members Exhibition. I'm speechless. And for those who know me, you know that doesn't happen often. Over 120 pieces of art were entered.
One of the things that make this so special for me is that the award is given in memory of Patrick Flannery. Patrick was a warm and wonderful man and artist. I can't help but think Patrick might have tipped the scales just a little for me from above those rain clouds that were hovering above us on Sunday.
Best in Show awards don't come often for artists. When they do it's almost always a surprise. For those who aren't familiar with how these awards are given out this is the process most of the time:
The judge or presenter names each artist who won an award from "Judge's Choice" all the way up to "Best in Show". There can be up to 10 categories with a number of winners for each category. In this show there were 30 or so winners. So as each winner is named you are thinking "Ok I didn't win a Merit award, maybe I'll get the Recognition award. Nope, didn't get the Recognition award, maybe I'll get the better Achievement award." And so it goes. You get a little more excited at the possibility of getting a better award when each award winners name gets called out. And then you start realizing that there only a few awards left and you might not get an award at all. That is what happened to me in my last show, nothing. Which is fine, it happens all the time to every artist. So anticipation turns to apprehension real fast! So when that last name gets called, and it's yours, well your speechless.
Congratulations to all the other winners. First place and second place went to the husband and wife team Weldon Ryan & Richlin Ryan. They are a tough pair to beat.
Thank you Judge Karlene McConnell for your great eye.
Here is what Judge Karlene McConnell had to say about my Best in Show painting. "The artist shows a strong connection to his viewers through imagery that relates to social issues. The 3 dimensionality of the work and the materials used give it strength. The piece is professionally executed. There is strong knowledge and use of values and color." - Judge Karlene McConnell
