Forms, Lines and Colors (oh, my) was our first abstract, abstracted and abstract expressionist show. It was judged by St. Petersburg artist Nathan Beard. Nathan was a recent recipient of the Creative Pinellas Emerging Artist grant and recently unveiled his "Kintsugi Scrolls" at the former Gulf Coast Museum in Largo at their Emerging Artists New Work Exhibit in October 2017. According to Nathan, his work:
"...is an abstract representation of the fleeting moments of my everyday life and is based upon a recollection of the sensations, colors and spaces I perceived in those moments. I am inspired by the density and variety of Floridian flora and am conceptually drawn to interweaving layers and its metaphorical application to memory recall and moments of time."
Without further ado....
All of Nathan's feedback about the winners is with each image.
First Place: "The Quiet Place" by Audrey Ewing (Acrylic)
"Ewing’s painting takes some time to reveal itself. It is like a vague memory of a special moment, sketched in faintly, and we can really feel the artist searching for both the image and her expression. Ewing is not afraid to take risks and, like our minds or like great poetry, her piece is at once both unclear and very clear. This is abstract painting at its best: mysterious, risky, selective, and beautiful."
2nd Place: "Genesis" by Gina Stark (Acrylic)
"The evidence of intent is quite amazing in this painting. Normally, the drip and splatter technique is used with wild abandon, but Stark’s ability to carefully build form with complementary hues, suspended in space, while maintaining the energy of the technique is very impressive in this small work."
Third Place: "Random Intent II" by Sue Downes Allen (Acrylic)
"Downes Allen has created a very strong painting, notable for its definition of space and movement. With a brilliant use of translucent layers, strong contrasts and experimental techniques, the atmosphere she creates is both subtle and tense."
Honorable Mentions
"Kintsugi" by Natalie Shear (Mixed Media)
"This is an emotionally complex piece that expresses several moments of time in one image. Kintsugi is a Japanese technique used to fix broken ceramics, rendering the repaired object more beautiful than the original because its history is exposed. From this work, we are led to believe that something broke, that it has been repaired, but cannot be completely sure what has been mended – the relationship or the artist’s heartache? This piece is a beautiful poem about love and loss."
"Shadow Dance" by Mary Mirabal
"Mirabal’s use of color is strong and the resolution with which she paints is very admirable. Her composition is well-defined, her application of paint decisive and the way her work is finished and prepared for exhibit is excellent."
"Orange Agate" by Frances Babb
Babb’s use of a complementary color scheme in this painting is used wonderfully and she has explored the entire palette of red and greens with ease. The different scales of her shapes make for a dynamic composition and the loose way in which she renders them helps transform her source of inspiration into something much more personal and poetic."