CPSA Explore This! and juror's statement - now online

The Colored Pencil Societry of America's Explore This! exhibition is now online and continues until 31st January 2012.

This is the CPSA exhibition in which mixed media is allowed and that includes unusual surfaces and 3D images.  It's for the coloured pencil artists with imagination as well as technique!

The key features of the exhibiton are:

• online show:  It became and online show and there's every indication it will continue as one.  The two main benefits are:
• it's much easier for coloured pencil artists across the world to take part because there's no requirement to send your work to the USA
• it's much less work to create an exhibition 
• the website lists all artists in the show:  everybody always likes to see quickly who got in!  The title of the artwork in contains a hyperlink to the artist's artwork
• all artwork is for sale:  there's an opportunity for artists to sell their artwork from the CPSA website.  If you click individual images you can see the prices which have been set by artists.
  
• an annual show which runs all year:  The exhibition dates are always February - January, hence this an opportunity to get your work on the website of a prestigious art society for a year
• a juried show:  The exhibition continues to be a juried show.  This year the juror was Ken Rollins  who has been the Executive Director of four art museums in Florida in a career of over 30 years 

CPSA Exolore This! 7

This is the Juror's Statement which I've reproduced here as I think it's possible a few people might miss it on the website.

As always with juror's statements, this is what this juror was looking for.  I'm slightly surprised to find that he's looking at technique first since this is the show where the focus is on creative and innovative uses of coloured pencil and I don't see this reflected in his statment. 

Juror's Statement

It was a pleasure for me to have the opportunity to jury the Colored Pencil Society of America’s 2011 exhibition. The process was a rewarding and challenging experience. There were 197 entries and my task was to select approximately fifty pieces which in my judgment were exceptional, well accomplished works of art.

There were numerous styles and techniques presented. From realistic depictions of human figures, animals, flora and fauna; to expressionistic, abstract, gestural, surreal and geometric entries; the body of work I reviewed was resplendent with first rate works of art and the task of deciding what to include in the exhibition was not easy. I was truly impressed with the level of technical expertise demonstrated and the amazing aesthetic achievements realized with colored pencils.

I approach the jurying process without any preconceived notions. I first carefully review all the works entered, making mental notes and letting the body of work settle into my consciousness. I then review the entries a second time before beginning to compare, contrast and mentally rank the entries.

As I begin to make judgments I first look for technical competence, a command of the materials and process. Then the composition of the imagery comes into play, how is the work organized on the paper.  I am also mindful of the mood that may be set by how the artist handles the materials, is an emotion communicated?

I very much appreciate traditional realism, but I am also intrigued and drawn to works of art that challenge my imagination, works that cause me to want to know more. There are works of art in this exhibition that utilize both approaches.

This exhibition clearly demonstrates that the artists involved with the Colored Pencil Society of America are truly talented individuals and occupy a unique and special place in American art today.

Ken Rollins, President
Rollins Fine Art, LLC

The award winners are:

• The EXPY Best of Show Award and the Prismacolor Award ($2000) - "The Open Door" - Catherine Gauldin (TX) - whose blog is Catherine Gauldin Illustration
• The CPSA Great Explorations Award ($1500)"Waterlilies in the Rain Forest" (7.25 x 10 inches
  colored pencil, crayon, acrylic paint) - Carol Bardes (FL)
• The CPSA District Chapters Award for Exceptional Merit ($1000) "Dinner in Las Vegas" (9.5 x 11.25 inches colored pencil, wax pastel, oil pastel) - J. Y. Chang (CA)
• The CPSA District Chapters Award for Outstanding Recognition ($750) "Dog Day Afternoon" (10.5 x 13.5 inches colored pencil and ink) - William Charuhas (CA)
• The Seattle WA District Chapter 207 Award for Outstanding Recognition ($500)"Structures (Artists Book) (11 x 8.5 x 1.5 inches, colored pencil, painting, printmaking, book board) - Elizabeth Holster, CPSA (CA).  

I love the fact that the last one is an Artists Book!

Exhibition statistics

I'm currently crunching numbers in connection with this exhibition - more about the added value to be derived from doing this next week!