Scott Krohn wins CPSA's 22nd International Exhibition

This is an interview with American coloured pencil artist Scott Krohn who has won the top prize at the 22nd International Exhibition of the Colored Pencil Society of America. 

More details after the interview - which includes images of the work in progress - about

• the awardwinners 
• the artists whose work was selected for the exhibition - organised by home state within the USA or country of origin. [UPDATE: The incorrect list included by mistake has now been updated to the correct list of artists as of April 2014)

Winner of the CIPPY Award & CPSA Best of Show $5000
"Stone Faced; Self Portrait" by Scott Krohn
25 x 19 inches, Prismacolors on Mi Tientes paper

The exhibition can currently be seen at The Ormond Memorial Art Museum and Gardens until 25th August 2014.

An Interview with Scott Krohn

Scott Krohn is a coloured pencil artist living in Minnesota.  I wanted to interview him because his artwork drew a spontaneous and vocalised expression of my appreciation as soon as I saw it online - and that doesn't happen a lot!

Fortunately Scott was very happen to answer my questions!  He's also provided me with some pics of this drawing as a work in progress and these intersperse the answers to my questions.

Scott Krohn 
with his prizewinning colored pencil drawing - in the exhibition

It has been very exciting since I learned I won Best of Show. It is a dream come true and one of the highest goals I had set for my professional career.

How long have you been using coloured pencils? What do you like about them? 

I have been a high school art teacher for the past 20 years teaching mainly Drawing, Pottery, and Graphic Design and began seriously using colored pencils in 2006.

I've always loved drawing as a medium, but colored pencil is my favorite because of the abundance of possibilities it allows. It also gives the artist such potential to create realism, which I've always been interested in.

Which are your preferred brands and surfaces to work on - and which did you use for your prizewinning work? 

I use Prismacolor pencils on Canson Mi Tientes paper almost exclusively, although I recently purchased Faber Castell Polychromos so I'll be experimenting with those in the coming months.

"Stone Faced; Self Portrait" was done with Prismacolors on Mi Tientes paper.

How long did it take you to do the work which won? 

It took me six months and approximately 150 hours to complete. 

"Stone Faced; Self Portrait" by Scott Krohn - work in progress #1

How long have you been drawing rocks? 

I got into drawing rocks at the same time as I discovered the potential of colored pencils. I was on the north shore of Lake Superior, which has become my sacred space in the last several years. I am fascinated by the rocks there and the variety of their shapes and sizes. I can spend hours on the beach there just looking at the rocks and taking in the serenity the place offers. Much of my past work uses rocks as subject matter.

"Stone Faced; Self Portrait" by Scott Krohn - work in progress #2

Have you previously won any prizes? 

This was my 8th year entering the CPSA Exhibition and my 5th year getting accepted (so I also earned my 5 year merit award this year).

The prize money is incredible. I plan to invest some of it into my art (supplies, prints, a new web site, things like that). I'm also remodeling my bathroom, so some of the money will go towards that.

I have won various awards at local shows this past year, including first place drawing and third place drawing in the Savage Arts Council Competition, best drawing and fourth place overall in the Elk River Alliance competition. Before that, I had won the award for excellence and second place overall at the Burnsville Art Fete three different times. And I was just accepted into the Minnesota State Fair competition for the third time.

"Stone Faced; Self Portrait" by Scott Krohn - work in progress #3

Do you have a website?

My only web site right now is www.mnartists.org/scott_krohn although I am working on getting a new web site up and running.

Images by the other prizewinnersCPSA 22nd International Exhibition
Click the link in the caption to see larger versions

CPSA Awardwinners - 22nd International Exhibition, Florida

This is the list of the awards, the title of the works which won and the names of the artists.

You can read about who were the donors of the very generous prizes on the CPSA blog post 22nd International Exhibition Award Winners Announced

CIPPY Award & CPSA Best of Show $5000 - Stone Faced: Self Portrait 
Scott Krohn, CPSA (MN)

CPSA District Chapters Award for Exceptional Achievement $2000 - Fran (Artist)
John Smolko, CPSA (OH)

Dixon Ticonderoga Award for Exceptional Merit $1000 - Falling Into Place
Arlene Steinberg, CPSA, CPX (NY)

Prismacolor Award for Exceptional Merit $1000 - At Face Value
Lori Garner, CPSA (TX)

Award for Outstanding Achievement $800 - Homage to Leonardo
Dennis Angel (NV)

Award for Outstanding Achievement $800 - Adrift
Shawn Falchetti, CPSA (PA)

Award for Outstanding Achievement $800 - The Best of Friends
CJ Worlein, CPSA

Award for Outstanding Recognition $600 - Elise
Holly Bedrosian, CPSA (NH)

Award for Outstanding Recognition $600 - Looking Good
Suzanne Hunter, CPSA (TX)

Award for Outstanding Recognition $600 - Holiness
Rhonda Nass, CPSA (WI)

Award for Excellence $400 - Mermaid of Table Rock Lake
Deane Ackerman, CPSA (SC)

Award for Excellence $400 - Noesis
Tanja Gant, CPSA, CPX (TX)

Award for Excellence $400 - Canned
Jeff George, CPSA (CA)

Award for Excellence $400 - Whisker to Whisker
Sheila Theodoratos, CPSA, CPX (WA)

Award for Excellence $400 - Mass Appeal
Paul Van Heest, CPSA (MI)

Awards of the same value are equal in rank, and artists are in alphabetical order within each award group.

NOTE: I was a little surprised when looking for websites to note that:

• very few had an individual URL for the page their artwork was on
• rather a lot had had their artwork pinned to Pinterest - BY OTHER PEOPLE.

The moral of the story is that if you have an identifiable URL for individual items of artwork you can tell where the visitors are coming from if you use a decent statistics service - and hence can tell when your artwork has been pinned. Some people don't mind - and others mind a lot. Just a thought.

Selected Artists

Below is a list of the artwork and artists selected for the exhibition - from all over the USA and countries and continents - organised by the location of the artist.

This provides something of an indication where coloured pencil art and CPSA branches are active within the USA as the numbers being selected do not correlate with the population of those states.

Alabama
Susie	Garrett	Lady of Lowe Mill
Arizona
Barbara	Dahlstedt	El Blanco
Elliott	Everson, CPSA, CPX	Fragmented
Toni	James, CPSA	Vintage Allure
Jane	McCreary, CPSA	Raindrops in Ireland
George	Shively	Ruby Crystal Geometry
California
Mikela	Cameron, CPSA.	Roundup Ready
Janki	Chokshi	Reveal
Jeff	George, CPSA	Canned
Gemma	Gylling, CPSA	Hear Me Roar
Denise	Howard, CPSA, UKCPS, MPAS	Tree of Stories
Buena	Johnson	Deliverance
Andrew	Purdy	Morning Sun
Mike	Purdy	Reaching for the Sky
Barbara	Rogers, CPSA	Surf at Sunrise
Megan	Seiter	Sophie
Christopher	Swetlin	39th and Hacienda III
John	Tolomei	Kauai Palms
Phillip	Zubiate III	Un"BEE"lievably Dahliacious
CANADA
Vickie	Lawrence	Before and After
Colorado
Cynthia	Haase	Peaches and Green Ribbon
Florida
Jeffrey	Baisden, CPSA	Decadence - Broken Promises
Donna	Caputo, CPSA	Southwestern Silver Dance
Anda	Chance	Time Keeper
Patricia	Lentine	Summer Dreams
Agnes	Manganelli	Just Add Water
Suzanne	Marcil, CPSA	Crystal Clear
Mari K	Moehl, CPSA	Matriarch of the Crop
Melissa Miller	Nece, CPSA	Skimming Past
Glinda	Pennock	Healthy Choice
Faye	Wilkins	Rhiannon2
Georgia
Kim	Hamby	On the Lookout
Nancy	Suffolk Guerine, CPSA	Three Old Friends...Crusty, Rusty, and Trusty
Debra	Yaun, CPSA	Swan Reflections
GREECE
Titika	Faraklou	Born in the Land of the Gods
Idaho
Dava	Dahlgran	Making Salsa
Sonja	Johnson	Out on a Limb
Illinois
Andria	Burchett	Trencadis
Gail	Collier, CPSA	Finding My Niche - Almost Home
Barbara	DeWaard, CPSA	Autumn's Interlude
Tracy	Frein	Jason: The Fighter
Priscilla	Humay, CPSA	Reptilian Goddess
Alfredo	Martinez	Portrait in G Major
Linda	Palmer	Peek A Boo! Whoooo!
Joan E.	Robertson, CPSA	Looking for Gold
Amy	Turner, CPSA	Season of Remembrance
Indiana
Pamela	Clements	Spring Forward
Kansas
David	Fonseca	Larry, Moe & Curly
Kentucky
Vanessa	Lawrence	The Golden Girls
Louisiana
Carol	Scott	Crystal #29, Dome
Melanie	Wallace	Turf Wars
Massachusetts
Deborah	Friedman, CPSA	The Transparency of Summer
MALAYSIA
Sharon	Kow	To Have and To Hold...
Maryland
Deborah	Maklowski, CPSA	Relic
Maine
Elizabeth	Patterson, CPSA	Reclining Onion
Michigan
Bonnie	Auten, CPSA	Robert the Bruce
Travis	Erby	Ronnie's Tears
Erwin	Lewandowski	Streamside Cove II
Linda	Lutze	Interloper
Gail Borgman	McGuire	Bass Harbor Lighthouse
Wendy	Mersman	The Twins
Dean	Rogers, CPSA	Tired of the Hunt
Rita	Skoczen, CPSA	Sunny Day
Paul	Van Heest, CPSA	Mass Appeal
Minnesota
Scott	Krohn, CPSA	Stone Faced: Self Portrait
North Carolina
Liz	Guzynski	I Am Lylah
Kate	Lagaly, CPSA, CPX	Dousing
Donna	Slade, CPSA	In My Eyes
New Hampshire
Holly	Bedrosian, CPSA	Elise
New Jersey
Paula	Madawick, CPSA	Ward-Ryerson-Patterson House: Spring
Andrea	Placer	At Rest on Rusted Metal
New Mexico
Melinda	Beavers, CPSA	The Race Begins
Jean	Thurow	Spring Cactus Garden
Martin	Vela	Molto Moto
Nevada
Dennis	Angel	Homage to Leonardo
Anna	Hammer	Amused To No End
Holly	Siniscal, CPSA	Dancing Shoes
New York
Kurt	Altschul	Bookended
Carol	Maltby,CPSA	Fairgrounds I
Arlene	Steinberg, CPSA, CPX	Falling into Place
Ohio
Cecile	Baird, CPSA	Tear Jerker
Barbara	Byram, CPSA	Frankie
Marsha	Gilger	Ellie Divided
Jonavon	Herr	Killing Time
Margaret (Margi)	Hopkins	Waiting
Jamie	Hosler	Abarat
Amy	Lindenberger, CPSA, CPX	October Morning, Fog Receding
Sharon Frank	Mazgaj, CPSA	Chipper
Cheryl	Metzger	Closer to the Light
Lee Ann	Novotny, CPSA	Winter Time
John	Smolko, CPSA, CPX	Fran (Artist)
Katherine	Thomas	Souvenirs
Oregon
Susan	D'Amico, CPSA	Counterpoint
CJ	Worlein, CPSA	The Best of Friends
Pennyslvania
Shawn	Falchetti, CPSA	Adrift
Rhode Island
Kendra	Ferreira, CPSA, CPX	Discovery
South Carolina
Deane	Ackerman, CPSA	Mermaid of Table Rock Lake
Gretchen	Parker, CPSA	Fallen Stars
Faith	Wheeler	Them Basses
Tennessee
Carla	Sexton, CPSA	Carmen Takes a Sip
Dena	Whitener, CPSA	Nellie's Gift
Texas
Nika	Cranmer	Farley
Tanja	Gant, CPSA, CPX	Noesis
Lori	Garner, CPSA	At Face Value
Merri	Hanson	Kaleidoscope
Linda Lucas	Hardy, CPSA, CPX	I Am Not What I Seem
Suzanne	Hunter, CPSA	Looking Good
Lisa	Mills	Reflections on Cool Jazz
Irma	Murray	Do Not Disturb
Christi	Tompkins	It's a Dog's Life
Cathy	Ward, CPSA	The Terminator
Vermont
Karen	Coleman, CPSA	Hope is the Thing with Feathers
Sherry	Smith	Reflecting on Spring
Suzanne	Vigil	Teal the Coes Come Home
Washington
Elizabeth	Dobes	Country White
Junkyu	Lee	Rest a While
Paula	Parks, CPSA, CPX	Plum Delicious
Iris	Stripling, CPSA	Tipping Point
Sheila	Theodoratos, CPSA, CPX	Whisker to Whisker
John	Ursillo, CPSA	Woman of Rovinj, Croatia
Ranjini	Venkatachari, CPSA, CPX	Omne Trium Perfectum
Wisconsin
Jody	Beighley	December Morning
Rhonda	Nass, CPSA	Holiness
Wyoming
Eileen	Nistler, CPSA, CPX	Riches and Honor
Dorothy	DePaulo	The Gate Keeper

 

Links:

• Review: CPSA 21st International Exhibition 2013 in California
• The Facebook Page for CPSA has recently changed and can be found here https://www.facebook.com/pages/Colored-Pencil-Society-of-America/279071582264113