2022 fall Member Show

December 17, 2022 - January 7, 2023

Juried by lyn asselta

The PSME Fall Member Show celebrated with a reception and awards ceremony on the show’s closing day, January 7, 2023, in Topsham, Maine. Thanks to our show committee Marijke Damrell, Cheryl DiCara, and Claudette Gamache; to our award judge Lyn Asselta; and to the Topsham Public Library for its beautiful and welcoming venue. Lyn's comments about the judging process overall can be found below the online images gallery.

View the show demo, by Christina Perry Davis, and awards presentation videos:

Demo: https://youtu.be/ZV6zbnG7bAo

Awards: https://youtu.be/vae-DVk2JZo

FIRST PRIZE

Nancy Culver, “Crash Into Me”

AWARD WINNERS

SECOND PLACE (left to right)

Susan Cuniff, “Beach Bounty”
This small, but sophisticated still life immediately caught my eye and made me want to explore.   The arrangement of shells is well considered and I especially love the luminous dot of white at the top of the snail shell that sits directly above the mussel shell. The rendering of the textures of the shells is especially well done and the subtle, muted colors allow you to almost feel the residue of salt on them. The dark echoes of the colors of the shells that are found in the deep, rich colors of the surface they’re arranged on is a gorgeous choice by this artist. The choice of a square format is perfectly suited to this painting and the angled edge that shows in the upper left is an intriguing addition to the background, keeping the surface fresh and interesting and not allowing the background to become static. This is a piece where technical mastery meets narrative with a quietly powerful result.

THIRD PLACE

Diana Johnson, “Autumn’s Sigh”
What could have easily been a “typical” local landscape takes on a magical quality through the playful, but complex, use of impressionistic color in this piece. The illustrative, narrative use of color and texture, created by interesting mark making and juxtaposition of color, take this piece to a level all its own. The use of a square format, pushing the eye into the scene, serves to make the viewer even more aware that the forms and shapes making up this landscape are treated in a highly unusual, imaginative way. In this piece, the color does the talking and the forms create the solid foundation that keeps the viewer exploring this intriguing place.

HONORABLE MENTION

Mary Beth Morrison, “Every Creative Endeavor”
There is a lot of energy in this painting of a quiet, snowy spot in the forest. It reminds me of the way I feel when I’m out there in similar places, when there is an odd mix of silence and exuberance. The snow brings that muffled feeling while the light brings so much energy as it bounces amongst the dark tree trunks and branches. The purposeful use of both color temperature and intensity amplifies this effect, and the choice of a textured ground adds movement, pushing your eye from one negative space to the next throughout the piece. The burst of light in the upper left corner brings so much life and excitement to this painting and further emphasizes the way the light plays off of the branches nearby. I am always fascinated with paintings that make me FEEL the temperature rather than just elude to it. This painting definitely makes you feel the cold in this beautiful space.

HONORABLE MENTION

Terrilynn Dubreuil, “Acquisition”
The minimal use of color in this portrait enhances the quiet, contemplative mood created by this child who is intent on the discovery she is making. The gesture of the hand speaks volumes, as does the carefully crouched position of her body. Her shadow masterfully surrounds the light around the shell, giving this little treasure a space of its own, making it of equal importance to the figure itself in the narrative. Lastly, the use of a textures surface and the looseness of the marks alludes to the casualness of a summer day at the beach.

HONORABLE MENTION

Ellen Pelletier, “Moonlit” (no image available at this time)
This quintessential evening at the edge of the ocean is made sophisticated and intriguing by the use of a neutralized color palette that plays off the intensity of the light, creating an exciting luminosity that carries through the sky and the water, giving the waves that elusive, viscous quality that sometimes appears when seen in low light. It is the quality of light in this piece that I find especially enticing.

~ Comments accompanying awards by Lyn Asselta, Fall Member Show judge

online images

(Some painting images from the Fall Member Show are not available in the online gallery.)

REGARDING JUDGING, by Lyn Asselta:

First and foremost, I’d like to say thank you to the Pastel Society of Maine and its members for entrusting me with the task of judging your Fall Members Show. It’s a privilege to be asked, and it is never an easy job to make the final decisions. 

To each artist who put forth their best efforts and entered the show, it is always an honor to step into a gallery filled with your work and to spend time with the marks you make, the compositions you create, and the stories you tell in the paintings you submit. 

For a judge, the ultimate task is to be impartial, to do our best to look at your work in a way that takes into account all the technical aspects of the painting process, from composition to color palette to format and perspective, use of value and shape and form, all the way to lines and edges and balance, but we also have to evaluate more subjective elements such as impact and emotion and intent. We have to assess your ability to use the medium to its best advantage and we have to look for the narrative you’re creating. Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, we look for that immeasurable quality in a piece that sets it apart, the unique quality that utilizes the artist’s ability to manipulate the medium to combine technique with emotion and intent to create a piece that speaks on many levels and that brings something personal to the table. 

We are each at a different place in our personal artistic journeys. There will be both losses and triumphs along the way, but it’s good to remember that every time we enter a show or hang our work in public, we are taking another step forward. 

To the award winners, I congratulate you on your exemplary efforts. I know how hard you have worked to reach this point! Your paintings show an in depth knowledge of the medium paired with impactful narratives. 

To the rest of the wonderful artists in this show, I congratulate you, as well. I am one judge and my choices today might be different from those that another judge might make, they might even be different if I were judging this same show a month from now, but ultimately, you have earned a place on the walls of this beautiful exhibit and your work, hung together, shows the depth of this group’s talent. Always remember a judge always has only a limited number of awards to distribute, and you may never know if your painting was the next in line.  You will never know whether or not the judge had to struggle with a choice between two paintings to make the final decision about that last award. 

I have enjoyed spending time with all of your work.  I wish each and every one of you the best as you continue along your artistic paths.