Nominations for the best artwork on a blog in 2007

Here are the final nominations - with images - for the the best drawing or painting developed in 2007 by an art blogger and posted on an art blog in 2007 which I'm awarding as part of the Making A Mark Awards (MAMA!) 2007. See this post for further details of how the nomination process worked.

There'll be another post following this one later today with the five finalists and voting details. I've got four sorted and am just having a few problems choosing the final one! Please make sure you check back to see the finalists and vote for your favourite of the five finalists.

Finally, congratulations to two Daily Paintworks artists - Sarah Wimperis and Karen Jurick who both had two works nominated.

Paintings

"What is the Chief End of Man?" by Elizabeth Love ( NZ Art)
nominated by Casey Klahn (The Colorist):

"Elizabeth's painting is a stunning combination of fields and dark gestural elements, balanced and with excellent color intrigue. "

"Kitchen window with three cups " by Sarah Wimperis (The Red Shoes)
Nominated by Vivien Blackburn (Painting, Prints and Stuff)

"I think her sense of light. colour and composition are wonderful and I love the loose handling of the paint. Still life is something I very very rarely do myself but when I see it done this well it makes me feel like doing one :) "

Hedge - late afternoon by Sarah Wimperis (The Red Shoes)
Nominated by Laura Frankstone (Laurelines)

This epitomizes Sarah's deft way of dealing with dualities: light and dark, warm and cool, mass and texture, complementary colors like red and green---all rendered so vividly with her characteristic joie de vivre.

"Note to Self" by Karen Jurick (A Painting Today)
Nominated by Rose Welty (Rose's Art Lines)

"This painting is a transporter for me. It transports me to moments in my memories. Beyond that, the background bushes are full of light and movement. And yet, the woman is full of calm and repose. The moment captured is both still and active - in perfect balance. "

The Color Purple by Karen Jurick (A Painting Today)
nominated by Robyn Sinclair (Have Dogs Will Travel)

For best painting I'm nominating Karen Jurick - The Color Purple - from her beautiful series of people looking at art. It is hard to pick a favourite in the series. Karen's wonderful brushwork is inspiring.

Krispy Kreme by Duane Keiser (A Painting A Day)
nominated by Tina Mammoser ( The Cycling Artist)

Duane has been at the forefront of blogging art and the daily painting movement. This is one of his large scale works and it's just yummy.

Night Tides" by Tina Mammoser ( The Cycling Artist)
Nominated by Anna of Se.Be.Draw.

I nominate this painting for three main reasons: size, technique, and impression. Tina is a creative artist doing artwork in all different sizes, but it takes a strong artist to pull off such a large painting. I am quite impressed with the way she works with colors, mixes, and glazes, as her technique gives depth to the painting and creates a multitude of beautiful shades of blue. The result is an abstract painting of the English coastline that I can relate to although I am sitting in a different part of the world.

"Quiet (Cloudy at the Marsh)" by Karen Margulis ( Painting My World)
Nominated by Miki Willa (Pastel and More)

I am a big fan of Karen Margulis. While she has done a number of marsh paintings, I am drawn to the pallette she has chosen for this one. The sky sets a wonderful somber mood, yet the marsh still invites you in. It really is quite wonderful.

"Up from the Abyss" by Carol Carter ( Carol Carter)
nominated by Adam Cope (Dordogne Painting Days)

I like this watercolour because it's unusual (despite it being one of many in her 'swimmers' series). It's big (30x40 inches), it's wet (just look at the wet work in the shadows), it's masterful with technique (done from a photograph I imagine but doesn't look photorealist), it doesn't give up it's meaning at the first glance (brave to demand this on the web with the average surfer judging a painting in less than ten seconds), it's curious (the psychological shedding of an oldself or second skin in times of difficulties....), it's hopeful (the new taking form), it's pretty (love those colours!), it's hip...

Elementals No. 18 by David Castle (David Castle Art)
nominated by denverguy67

I am nominating this piece as it inspires me and just makes me happy overall. The purples, greens and blues are so soothing and relaxing, and each time I look at the painting, I find something new. It is not your traditional watercolor. Clearly David has an eye for color, sharp lines, and dimension.

Eruption by Karl Heerdt (Daily Gems)
nominated by Bill Sharp (Bill Sharp's Sketch blog)

It's very very difficult to choose a best painting from all the excellent work being done on blogs these days but onr of my favorites is Karl Heerdt's Eruption. Sadly, Karl doesn't seem to be posting to his blog anymore.

Descanso Garden by Dee Farnsworth (Dee Farnsworth)
Nominated by Claudia (Time Passages)

I would like to nominate Dee Farnsworth for her wonderful painting Descanso Garden

Drawings

Fiesta Orange by Nicole Caulfield ( Nicole Caulfield Art Journal)
Nominated by Casey Klahn (The Colorist)

This drawing presents challenging colors, value arrangements, and compositional elements.

Sleeping by Cathy Johnson (The Quicksilver Workaholic)
nominated by Laura Frankstone (Laurelines)

For Kate, drawing is as necessary as breathing. For her, drawing another human being or animal is a way of knowing and of registering intimacy, love, profoundest respect. In the sketch mentioned above she gives us her husband Joseph deeply asleep, vulnerable, his mouth open, his body fully relaxed. There's intimacy here but not intrusiveness. This is what drawing does, at its best.

"A Tropical Vacation of the Mind" by Debbie Kaspari ( Drawing the Motmot)
Nominated by Rose Welty (Rose's Art Lines)

You can just feel the tree standing there. The leaves on the ground seem to breathe. Not to mention the range of values and textures.

Freedom of Speech by Anita Murphy (Am-Art)
nominated by Martin Stankewitz (Edition Handdruck / Freiluftmaler)

First I thought I had nothing to contribute,but then how could I not think about this..

Cream Burmese by Felicity Grace (Sketches by Fiz)
nominated by Robyn Sinclair (Have Dogs, Will Travel)

Obviously I have seen some wonderful drawings by art bloggers this year but this one was memorable for Felicity's beautiful style and her ability to capture the spirit of her subject.

Postcard from Georgetown by James Gurney (Gurney Journey)
nominated by nominated by Bill Sharp (Bill Sharp's Sketch blog)

I'm going to nominate a second piece from the really wonderful blog of James Gurney. James is a master of many media and his blog is full of valuable observations and just fun to read. This one is a sketch of a street scene in Georgetown Wash DC titled Postcard from Georgetown.

Papi avec Bretelles by France Belleville (Wagonized)
Nominated by Claudia (Time Passages)

And for the best drawing, I would like to nominate France Belleville for "Papi avec bretelles"

What happens when - my end of year review

This is an overview of when I will be posting all my end of year review blog posts:

• Saturday 22nd December: Blogging Art- Review of the Year (Part 1)
• Sunday 23rd December: Blogging Art - Review of the Year (Part 2)
• Monday 24th December: Nominations for the best artwork on a blog in 2007
  
• Monday 24th December: Images and poll for the "Best Artwork by a Blogger in 2007"
  
• Saturday 29th December: Making A Mark Awards (Part 1) and deadline for poll for "Best Artwork by a Blogger in 2007"
• Sunday 30th December: Making A Mark Awards (Part 2 - includes the results of the poll)
  
• Monday 31st December: My own personal review of the year.

Links:

• Making A Mark: The value of giving awards and testimonials - and a prize!