Judge of Awards Statement

I am honored to serve as judge of awards for the St. Louis Watercolor Society Exhibition. The works submitted were diverse, inspiring, sensitive, personal, bold and of impressive quality. Selecting award winners, by its very nature, can be encumbered by certain biases. Every attempt was made to be objective and to rely on an informed instinct based on over forty years as an artist, professor and gallery director.

The selection of works for awards possess that special quality that separates them from the rest: they challenge our mind; stimulate our imagination; are evocative with a clarity of vision; have staying power; show inventiveness with a pioneering spirit whose cumulative effect reflects the unique “voice” of the artist.

My criteria rest on the following principles which I refer to as the 5-C’s:

1. CONCEPT/CONTENT
   Is it challenging and well developed & exhibit a seriousness of purpose?
    
2. COMPOSITION/DESIGN IMPACT
   Does the work have good Gestalt in terms of unity and variety; a dynamic interplay between the elements/principles of art?
    
3. COLOR/LIGHT
   Are the light appropriate and color adequate to express the mood or painting content?
    
4. CRAFTSMANSHIP/TECHNICAL ASPECT/ DRAWING SKILLS
   Does the work reflect honesty in approach with technical sureness and eloquence and appropriateness of medium to idea?
    
5. CREATIVITY (Is what drives Art) OR AUTHENTIC VISION (sense of self)
   Does the artist push the boundaries; take risks; exhibit personal vitality; and create an image that has not been seen before?

I commend the artists for making this exhibition possible, a brave and a generous act. We must continue the search and support the arts and those who civilize society-give us beauty, insights, provoke our thoughts, mirror our times and enrich our lives. It is reassuring that so many of you are involved with pursuing the noblest form of human expression called ART. As often is the case with judged exhibitions another judge(s), another time might mean different results in the awards selection... This is the judging process that we as artists have come to know and live with.

I leave to you the words attributed to St. Francis of Assisi:

He who works with his hands is a laborer.
He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman.
He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.

- Robert Lee Mejer

Juror's Choice Award Winsor Newton $300 paint set Shirley Nachtrieb Inward Journey II
$150 Art Mart Davinci brush set Linda Wilmes The Chrome Base	$125 M Graham paints Linda Green/Metzler Emma’s Field
$100 Saint Louis Watercolor Society Award of Excellence Donna Johnson Clowning	$100 Saint Louis Watercolor Society Award of Excellence Maggie Zografakis Steps of Forgiveness
$57 Art Mart Davinci brush set Barbara Shaffer Blue Solitude	$50 Dick Blick corporate, gift certificate Lee Walter April
$50 Saint Louis Watercolor Society Award of Achievement Crystal Goldkamp Beach Bake	$50 Saint Louis Watercolor Society Memorial for Joanlee Ferrar William Curtis A Venice View
$40 Creative Catalyst Productions Award Elizabeth Concannon Studio Cleaning Day	$40 Creative Catalyst Productions Award Orlanda Kuether Forrest Floor
$30 Royal Brush Manufacturing, Inc. Award Janet Doll Standing Out	$30 Royal Brush Manufacturing, Inc. Award Linda Meyer Morning Mandevillas
$30 Dick Blick local, set of watercolor pencils Gloria Henderson Portrait Head	Honorable Mention - Saint Louis Watercolor Society tote bag Barbara McCormack Other Worlds
Honorable Mention - Saint Louis Watercolor Society tote bag Natalie Fleming Inner Eye II
2010 Big Splash Winners