Shades of Blue

Our first Art competition “Shades of Blue” started in September 2021 and concluded on October 07, 2021. Art Room Gallery received entries from many countries around the world: USA, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Finland, Portugal, Austria, United Kingdom, Philippines, France, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Japan, Belgium, New Zealand, Australia, Russia, Hong Kong, Germany, Spain, Iran, Nicaragua, Italy and Mexico. The Shades of Blue theme in this competition included a diversity in types, styles and mediums (oil on canvas, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, photography, digital, colored pencil, fiber). The following evaluation criteria has been used for judging the artwork: creativity, interpretation of the theme, originality and quality of art, overall design, demonstration of artistic ability, and usage of medium. Jury decided to select 163 artworks for inclusion in the exhibition. Aside from First, Second, and Third place Jury also presented Merit awards and Honorable Mention awards.

Thank you, and enjoy the exhibition!

Statement:

Telagio always had a passion for the visual arts. His high school paintings won national awards, and he was awarded a scholarship to the San Francisco Art Institute. Telagio finished his education by earning a BFA from the California College of Arts and Crafts. Telagio Baptista is a portrait, figurative, and cityscape artist using various atmospheric painting techniques. He frequently utilizes negative space to give his images room to “breathe” and to express a specific feeling or mood. His paintings have won international art competitions in addition to awards received both regionally and nationally. Telagio works solely with watercolor. He uses a limited palette, valuing simplicity and restful space. In his view, watercolor is magical, an exotic medium that has no boundaries. His images vary from the fully realistic, impressionism to the somewhat more abstract, allowing the viewer to relate directly to what is portrayed and emotionally suggested. With every picture, a story is being told. As an artist and as a person, Telagio is open to new ways of perceiving and understanding. He is continuously learning and embraces the notion that his best work is yet to come. Telagio’s watercolor paper of choice is Arches and Fabriano 140-300lb cold press to rough. Winsor Newton Professional Watercolor and Daniels Extra Fine is his primary choice of paints. Telagio Baptista conducts watercolor workshops in the Omaha area for both individuals and groups. Encouragement and support for each student characterize his teaching method. He brings his God-given and experienced painting skill along with his enthusiasm to each workshop, encouraging his students to speak "loud and clear" with their hearts and brushes.

Statement:

I work in most of the two-dimensional mediums. I prefer to build up many layers of transparent color in order to achieve depth and a glow to my work. Light and shadow, repetition of shapes and contrast are all an important part of my work. I love color, but value is more important to me. The most important part of any medium is composition, so this takes priority over all else in my work. Linda McCord lives in Washington state and works in her studio full time. Her work has taken awards in numerous national and international juried competitions and has been published in several books. She is a signature member of California Watercolor Association, Northwest Watercolor Society, Georgia Watercolor Society, and International Acrylic Painters Society. She recently retired after owning and managing several art galleries over the past ten years.

Statement:

My exploration of geometric and impressionistic abstract art and the interplay of color began in the 1970s as I perfected techniques of casting, fabricating and coloring polyresins. Early in my career, I used small slices – “palettes” – cut from an inventory of more than 100 polyresin castings to create sculptures and jewelry. More recently, macro digital photography enables me to display the palettes in a larger format. The polyresin palettes – most are about the size of a playing card — have both translucent and opaque color. A back-lit view of the palette offers one impression, and the front-lit view another. Each palette is photographed with a macro lens and with lighting that illuminates both views, creating a new combined view. The edited macro images are then enlarged into prints that showcase the bold geometric composition and vivid color of each palette on a grander scale. Viewers can enjoy the palettes simply for their unique compositions and colors. Or, in many cases, a palette can be envisioned as an otherworldly landscape. The Palettes Project is an example of technology’s impact on art: The abstract compositions that I fabricated by hand decades ago with no computer assistance are now being transformed using digital processes.