And the Winners Are...

"Fresh Bread," oil, 20"h x 16"w, ©Jill Banks 2012

Well, one of them is me.

For Paint Herndon!, yesterday and today's plein air painting competition in Herndon, VA ... in the adult category, the award recipients are:
Honorable Mention: Catherine Hillis
Third Place: Donna Robinson
Second Place: Vicki Blum (who happened to walk through the Herndon ArtSpace door right after her name was called -- a straight path to the floor to accept her award
First Place: Jill Banks (me)

I tried to jump up and down like the girl in the Youth category ... who gleefully accepted her award and kept on jumping. I'll have to practice that.

Present at the awards ceremony was my "model" Greg, who was there with his wife Betsy. After volunteering to sit with dog Kelsey yesterday, Greg had gone home to tell Betsy about the experience -- which may just push him back into painting.

Painting this afternoon

I hope so.

The jurors were Gennara Moore (a painter) and Pat Macintyre (painter, founder of the League of Reston Artists and the Reston Arts Studios and Gallery. Thank you!

I'm really happy with this painting ... because it's such a me-kind-of painting ... done plein air. With a year of occasional plein air experience (most of my work is still in the studio), I'm beginning to develop a logical process. That's better than panic from beginning to end. "Fresh Bread" started with a scribbly sketch in pen on lined paper ... but that was a great resource throughout to hold my shadow patterns. Plein air painting is crazy and confusing. A road map of sorts is handy.

Something Beautiful
I've been meaning to link to this blog post by Matthew Innis on his Underpaintings blog. Matthew gave a sneak peek at Michael Klein's Solo Show at Collins Gallery in Massachusetts. You have to see Klein's paintings. There's a mesmerizing YouTube video, too of him painting flowers. It may just change the way I pursue painting leaves. Masterful! With great writing, as usual by Matthew Innis.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
100 Faces in 100 Days Project
Email
Phone: 703.403.7435

Events and Exhibits

Sunday, October 14, MPA Artfest Outdoor Juried Arts Festival, McLean Central Park, McLean, VA

Saturday and Sunday, October 20&21, Great Falls Annual Studio Tour, 10am-5pm, visit artists in their studios throughout Great Falls on a self-guided tour. I’ll be at the Artists’ Atelier, 1144 Walker Road, Suite G, Great Falls, VA 22066

More October and November events are listed on my web site: www.JillBanks.com