"Daily Special" Wins Best in Show

"Daily Special," oil, 24"h x 18"w, ©2016 Jill Banks wins Best in Show

www.JillBanks.com

Wow!

"Daily Special" was selected by juror/artist Brienne Brown as the Best in Show winner of the September 2016 BoldBrush Painting Competition, a monthly online contest. See all the winning entries for the September competition here: http://faso.com/boldbrush/winners/187

In that same contest, my painting "Reverence" was voted as a FAV15 -- the Fine Art Views staff's favorite top 15% of the month's entries.

That Best in Show was out of a whopping 1,440 entries. Can you imagine selecting the winning entries and finalists out of that many images? To see all the entries, click here.

The award comes with a $1000 cash prize and an upcoming feature article in Informed Collector, a free online newsletter focused on delivering relevant content/advice for art collectors.

"Daily Special" is currently available for purchase.

This was an awfully nice boost before heading off to Texas to compete in the En Plein Air Texas painting competition. Good luck?

EVENTS

OCTOBER 23-30  En Plein Air Texas

I'm one of 35 lucky artists selected to paint for a week in San Angelo, Texas! Can't wait!

OCTOBER 21-30 Cityscape: Contemporary Plein Air Views of the Urban Landscape

Two paintings "Water Under the Bridge" and "Rock Climber" on view at the Peale Museum in Baltimore

THRU OCTOBER 24 Long Beach Island "Island Life" exhibition at the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences, Loveladies, NJ. Four of my paintings on view.

  

SEPTEMBER 30- OCTOBER 29 Oil Painters of America Salon Show, Castle Gallery of Fine Art, Fort Wayne, Indiana. "Janssen's Market" selected for this prestigious show.

Thanks for reading!

Jill Banks
www.JillBanks.com

 

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"Best in Show" in the Art League's 'Scapes Show

So cool! Last night (husband) Randy and I dropped off two paintings during receiving for the Art League's monthly juried shows ... something I haven't done for a VERY long time. This month's show is the 'Scapes show of landscapes, urban or rural. Since I took down my "Painting the Town" show this past Sunday ... I had plenty to choose from. My kind of theme.

Tonight, on my way home from the studio,  I asked Randy to call to find out if I got in and what got in. (Only one can make it.) I did get in. And won Best in Show, the Chameli and Amiya Bose Memorial Award. The winning painting: "Rainy Day in NYC", the same painting that just won an award at the Salmagundi Club's Painting and Sculpture Exhibition in NYC. The 'Scapes show juror is Joey P. Manlapaz whose bio appeared in the August Tidings, the monthly Art League newsletter.

Juror: Joey P. Manlapaz was born in the Philippines and came to the US as a young teen. She received her MFA in painting from George Washington University. Manlapaz exhibits extensively in the US and has received numerous accolades for her unique form of painterly photorealism. Her solo exhibit in Spring 2009 at the Corcoran Gallery of Art featured her Reflections series, highly complex paintings of reflections on glass storefront windows in DC. Manlapaz maintains a studio in Capitol Hill and is a faculty member at the Corcoran College of Art and Design. Her work can be viewed at www.joeymanlapaz.com.

When I came home (from plumbing fixture shopping), I looked at her web site. Interestingly, she's created a wonderful series of Reflections, scenes through windows. I'm personally fascinated with reflections. Take a look at "Through the Window" or "Randy and Me" in the Places Gallery on my web site: www.JillBanks.com. You'll see some similarities, I believe.

This is the third time I've won Best of Show at the Art League. The first was in July 2005 for "Alice with a Bad Case of Wanderlust". Second was in November 2008 in the Small Works show for "Orange Peeled."

I love the Art League. It's where I studied for years under master artists Robert Liberace and Danni Dawson, and where I took many of my first steps as a budding professional artist in their monthly juried shows. It's also where I had my first gallery solo show "Place Settings" in January 2008. (I was one of 10 solo show artists juried from the 1000+ members for 2008.) They nurture artists. That's a good thing.

Art League membership costs $70 per year and artist members can submit two pieces each month during regular receiving to be juried for exhibit. Receiving is on the first Monday of each month, 6:30-8:30pm and Tuesday, 10am-noon. (There are some exceptions. Check their web site.)

The awards reception is Thursday, August 12, 6:30-8:00pm with awards announced at 7:30pm. I hope you join me there! (There is the ART LEAGUE, 105 No. Union Street, Alexandria, VA  22314.

I was PAINTING today. Yea! You'll see progress in a post sometime on Wednesday. (Now today.)

"Rainy Day in NYC", 18"h x 24"w, oil, copyright Jill Banks 2010.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435

"On High" Wins Best of Show

I attended the reception for the artReston 17th Annual Juried Exhibition ... where three of my pieces are hanging from June 7 to July 6 ... and guess what? Okay, I suppose the title of the post gives it away. My painting "On High" won Best of Show!

Daniel Wise, an award-winning pastel painter, was the juror and he commented on each award winners' work. What he liked about "On High" ... and this is not a direct quote but paraphrased to the best of my memory ... interesting composition (off center), my brushstrokes (I must use some BIG brushes), the painting's not overworked, texture of fabrics (satin looks like satin), color (richness of the skin tones), and in addition to liking it just for its qualities as a painting ... he appreciated the subject matter. It wasn't just a beautiful portrait. It was a portrait of a woman who was slightly older, and sensual, beautiful, confident of who she is. He imagined that she was more beautiful today than she was when she was 18. I'm sure that is true. That's what I saw and imagined when I was painting her.

So, I admit. When someone is admiring one of your paintings... And that someone is the juror... You listen better than normal.

Happy bias aside, I thought Daniel Wise did a great job jurying. He was thoughtful about the process and his selections. First Place went to painter Kirsten Schneider for her powerful portrait "Johnny Rotten" ... and one of Daniel's comments was how much he was affected by seeing it in person. (He selected pieces for the show via electronic submissions -- from photos -- and chose award winners after the show was hung -- in person.) Scale matters. It's tough to tell what an artwork really looks like from a photo.

Second Place went to artist Katie Cassidy for her painting, "September Morning." I thought of Katie's painting as an abstract, but saw it differently (better) through Daniel's comments. He saw it as a landscape (it is) and loved its depth and mystery. Wow. When I saw it (as an abstract), I focused on it being a painting about color (warm glowing yellows). Katie pushed the painting to just the right spot.

More award winners:
Third Place: Allen Hart, "Cedar Waxwing", photography
Honorable Mention: Louise Gantas, "Butterfly Splendor" an amazing piece done in ink and goauche that has all of these "wonderful surprises" in it.
Honorable Mention: Lori Goll, "Peacock Blue" a pastel that Daniel Wise admired for the artist's gentle touch, almost lacelike quality given to the surface.

One last note on this long post (sorry ... but I don't win Best of Shows all that often) is that it was great to meet some very nice fellow artists at the reception.

"On High", oil on linen, 36"h x 30"w, copyright Jill Banks 2007.

Web: www.jillbanks.com
Blog: jillbanks.blogspot.com
Email: jillbanks1@aol.com
Phone: 703.403.7435

Receiving Bob Hof Award at the Art League

I had the pleasure of going to last Thursday's evening reception and award ceremony at the Art League ... and Randy snapped this photo of me receiving my certificate for winning the Bob Hof Award, Best in Show for "Orange Peeled" in the "Small Works" show this month. Also see the Art League blog for more info about the show. See my earlier post to see the painting.
Hopefully, you'll return to my own blog regularly and check out older posts as well -- if you're a new visitor.