MAM Awards 2010: Nominations for Best Still Life

The Making a Mark Prize for Best Portrayal of a Still Life in 2010 aims to highlight and celebrate excellence in creating pictures which help us to reflect on how the small and inanimate can be beautiful

Below you can find the nominations I received for the best picture (still life) on an art blog in 2010.

• I'll be selecting three of these plus (possibly) one more of my own choice to go forward as the shortlist for you to the vote on the best picture of 2010
• I'll be including larger images of the shortlisted works in the invitation to vote for the winner - which gets posted tomorrow.
• You then have until 29th December to vote for the work you think is the best.

Next by Steve Strode (Painter)
Nomination by Srteve Strode (self)

Hi Katherine, I would like to indulge in some shameless self promotion and nominate a painting from a series I am working on entitled 'Still Life with a Twist'. I don’t get that much traffic to canvas for votes so here goes. I was attracted by the unusual take on traditional subject matter and making this into a painting. Using well known sayings, film titles etc really sets the old grey matter working on how to use the tile to create the work, rather than the other way around, or the arbitrary choice of subject matter.

Look at Me by Karen Appleton
Nominated by Kimberley Santini

Kimberley also nominated Carol Marine for the best collection of still life works on an art blog - see http://carolmarine.blogspot.com/

Message in a Bottle by Sadie J Valeri (Sadie J Valeri)

Nominated by: eLIZabeth Floyd

I am drawn to the quite simpleness of this painting. The muted color palette, the simple division of space, and the excellent skill in applying paint. Beautiful in so many ways! What is also wonderful about this blog post is that she shared multiple stages of this painting, so you get to see how she began and how the painting progressed into this gem.

Roscoff Onion with Blue Background by Julian Merrow-Smith (Postcard from Provence)
Nominated by Malcolm Cudmore

It is about as perfect a still life painting as I could ever wish to see. Since being alerted to JMS's blog earlier this year - I have found it a source of great inspiration. Each small painting is an absolute object lesson in the secret of good painting (mix the right colour and put it in the right place!). This particular painting is like a distilation of all that I aspire to (but am a million miles from!). Beautifully observed and economically rendered with perfect contrasts, colours and tones. Exquisite!!

Black Grapes #3 by James Neil Hollingsworth (Paintings in Oil)
Nominated by Belinda del Pesco

I wish I owned this painting. I have several pieces by Neil, and I love them all. His ability to paint realism without being tight and fussy astounds me. In this tiny little suspended gem, he's covered so many textures: twine, grape skins, water droplets, spheres in bright light with chalky, mottled surfaces, the organic twist of green fruit stems... it's all here and it would fit in the palm of your hand.

Why not tell me which three you would pick?

Posted

• MAM Awards 2010: Nominations for Best Portrait 
• MAM Awards 2010: Nominations for Best Landscape

Coming soon:

• MAM Awards 2010: Nominations for Best Natural World

(Nominations are remaining open until the nominations post is posted!)
 
Note: The rules for nominations were as follows:

• In 2010, any artist can be nominated who has created a portrayal of a still life (including flroals) - real or imaginary - and posted their work to their art or illustrated blog in 2010.
• 2D artwork is eligible - artwork can be a painting (in any media) or a drawing (in any media) or a fine art print (using any method)
• Work is NOT eligible if it appears to be be one or more of the following:
• was not completed in 2010
• has not appeared on an art or illustrated blog in 2010
• appears on a site which is not a 'regular' (non adult) art blog which is more than three months old  (ie websites don't count)
  
• over-reliant on a photograph not taken by the artist
• subjected to lots of digital manipulation/tweaks (over and above that needed to make it read 'true' on screen)
• the nominated work is unclear - no exceptions made for self-nominations
  
• An artist can be nominated more than once - by different people - for different works
• An artist can be nominated more than once - by different people - for the same work
• To be shortlisted the nominated artist must agree to their work being displayed on this blog as part of the shortlist.
• Anonymous nominations are not permitted. In order to nominate you too must have an art or illustrated blog and be capable of being identified by me. (This is to stop spammers!)
• All nominations must be in English