MAKING A MARK: Jeff George wins top prize at CPSA Annual International Exhibition 2015

The 23rd Annual International Exhibition of the Coloured Pencil Society of America is currently on display at Oglethorpe University Museum in Atlanta, Georgia - until 23rd August 2015.

Every year this exhibition comprises artwork drawn using 100% colored pencil and is based in a gallery in a different part of the USA.

I liked the way CPSA announced their prizewinners on the CPSA facebook page - giving each a proper introduction to members. The prizes were split between"

8 still lifes (50% of the total)
4 human portraits and 2 animal portraits
2 works which are figurative urban landscapes - but with a concept

Below you'll find:

a list of the prizewinners - with links to their websites embedded in their names. The link in this bullet point is to the website where you can see the images for all prizewinners.
a list of the coloured pencil artists selected for the exhibition. I've taken the list and then organised by country and state - illustrating the main areas where coloured pencil is strong.

Thanks to Shawn Falchetti CPSA for permission to use his photographs of the exhibition and some of the artists.

The 2016 Exhibition will be in Tacoma, Washington.

The Prizewinners Page on the CPSA website

The prizewinners were announced at the Annual Convention Banquet and are as follows

CPSA Best Of Show And Cippy Award ($5,000)

Jeff George, CPSA (CA) "What So Proudly We Hailed" - 20 X 16 Inches (see above)

Jeff George has won the top award of at least two other occasions that I can think of and has been a regular prizewinner for as long as I have been covering this exhibition - which is nearly 10 years!

For the uninitiated, 'What so proudly we hailed' is a line from the Star Spangled Banner, which celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2014 and became the national anthem of the USA in 1931.

Oh say can you see by the dawn's early light,What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

CPSA District Chapters Award For Exceptional Achievement ($2,000)

Arlene Steinberg, CPSA, CPX (NY) - "In The Beginning" - 15 X 21 Inches

In the Beginning by Arlene Steinberg
coloured pencil, 15 x 21 inches

The Cretacolor Award For Exceptional Merit ($1,000)

Jonavon Herr (OH)- "Threads Of Time" - 7 X 7 Inches

The Derwent/Conté À Paris - Colart Americas Award For Exceptional Merit ($1,000)

Jesse Lane (TX) - "Gravity" - 18 X 29 Inches - you can see a much larger image of the artwork on his website (click the link in the title)

Gravity by Jesse Lane
coloured pencil, 18 x 29 inches

The Dixon Ticonderoga Award For Exceptional Merit ($1,000)

Rhonda Nass, CPSA (Wi) - "God's Will, Finding Your Niche In Him" -12 X 14 Inches

Award For Outstanding Achievement ($800)

Tracy Frein (Il) - "Kit" - 23 X 17.75 Inches
Elizabeth Patterson, CPSA (Ca) - "Rue De Rivoli, Paris" - 18 X 28 Inches
Amol Saraf (India) - "Cuteness At Its Best" - 12 X 19 Inches

Award For Distinction ($600)

Suzanne Marcil, CPSA (Fl) - "My Sister's Crystal" - 20 X 16 Inches
Bonnie Sheckter (Canada)- "Second Thoughts" - 19 X 16.75 Inches
John Ursillo, CPSA (Wa) - "Hydrangea-Scape #2: Last Blush" - 24 X 24 Inches - the stpry of how he came to produce this artwork is on its page on his website. Click the link in the title to have a cler look and read all about it.
Ranjini Venkatachari, CPSA, CPX (Ca) - "Genealogy" - 12 X 12 Inches

"Hydrangea-Scape #2: Last Blush" by John Ursillo is the large painting in the middle
Coloured Pencil on Ampersand Gesso Board

(UK artists should note that Ampersand Boards - such as the one used above - are now available in the UK)

Award For Excellence ($400)

Joan Gelblat, CPSA (Ga) - "Reflections At The End Of The Day" - 18.75 X 24.75 Inches
Sharon S Kow (Malaysia) - "Contemplation" - 22 X 15 Inches
Eileen Nistler, CPSA, CPX (Wy) - "Aunt Clara's Collection 3" - 16 X 22 Inches
Lynda Schumacher, CPSA (Mi) - "A Quiet Eye" - 7 X 5 Inches

Analysis of Size of Prizewinners Artwork

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

Carrie Alderfer Contemplation

Arizona

Jane McCreary, CPSA Red Cholla Blossoms
Helen Rowles CPSA After the Show

California

Mikela Cameron, CPSA. My Dog Has Fleas
J.Y. Chang, CPSA, CPX The Blind Date
Jeff George, CPSA What So Proudly We Hailed
Denise Howard, CPSA, CPX Happy
Buena Johnson, CPSA Do You Remember?
Elizabeth Patterson, CPSA Rue de Rivoli, Paris
Paula Pertile Fried Egg on Sourdough Toast
Mike Purdy Table for Two
Aura Skugariene CPX Dualism of Two
Ranjini Venkatachari , CPSA , CPX Genealogy
Phillip Zubiate III Vegas Neon Duck

CANADA

Bonnie Sheckter Second Thoughts

Colorado

Dorothy DePaulo, CPSA, CPX Sibling Rivalry
Sandra Hunter, CPSA Metamorphosis of the Common Blue Morpho

Connecticutt

Rita Paradis, CPSA Interplay
Lauren Tyrell Angus

Florida

Jeffrey Baisden

Jeffrey Baisden, CPSA Upward Nobility
Anda Chance, CPSA Denizen of the Subway
Kathi Darby Uncertain Future
Christine Flanagan Sun Shadowed
Sharon Hester On Guard
Hanneke Jevons Horsepower
Marilyn Jones Summer Sass
Julie Karner Macaw's Glare
Suzanne Marcil, CPSA My Sister's Crystal
Mari K Moehl, CPSA Feeding Frenzy
Glinda Pennock Nickolas
Nancy Rhoads Sign of the Times
Mona Weidner Opal's Room

Georgia

Susan Calderon Shades
Philip Carpenter Shears 2
Joan Gelblat, CPSA Reflections at the End of the Day
Kim Hamby, CPSA In a New Light

GREECE

Maria Villioti Contrasts

Illinois

Jeanne Bogar Beach Boys
Kate Brown There Is a Self Portrait in My Mother's Wedding Ring
Gail Collier, CPSA Moving Toward Red
Tracy Frein Kit

Indiana

Pamela Clements Road Warrior

INDIA

Amol Saraf Cuteness at It's Best

Kansas

Charlotte Hastings Where's the Ducks?

Kentucky

Vanessa Lawrence A Love Story

At the exhibition

Massachusetts

Katherine Clericuzio This Bud's for You
Deborah Friedman, CPSA Angle of Repose

MALAYSIA

Sharon Kow Contemplation

Maryland

Mary Geissenhainer CPSA On the Banks of Otter Pond

Michigan

Wendy Mersman Can I Have Two?
Agnieszka Przyborowski Reflections
Lynda Schumacher, CPSA A Quiet Eye
Rita Mach Skoczen, CPSA Quilt 2
Paul Van Heest, CPSA Big Read

Minnesota

David Hart Rehearsal

Missouri

Sandy Brooks Night Flight
Susie Tenzer Selfie

North Carolina

Christina Hildreth Keel-billed Toucan—Who's Watching Who?
Donna Slade, CPSA Softtouch Reflections

New Jersey

Gwynn Di Pilla Beach Bikes
Anzhelika Doliba The Plaza and Fountain at Sister Cities Park, Philadelphia
Andrea Placer, CPSA Fancy Funghi
Jennifer Tabor LaVeglio Grumpilicious

Nevada

Dennis Angel View of the Grand Canal
Anna Hammer Beautiful Mind
Holly Siniscal, CPSA Shadow Abby

Nw York

Caryn Coville Bird's Eye View
Carol Maltby,CPSA Nathan
Arlene Steinberg CPSA, CPX In the Beginning

Ohio

Cecile Baird, CPSA Light Up Your Life
Kathy Cox Lauder's Lemons
Catherine Fithian Pink Hydrangea
Sharon Frank Mazgaj, CPSA Shiny Things 2
Marsha Gilger, CPSA Road Art
Jonavon Herr Threads of Time
Mary Hobbs, CPSA, CPX Blue
Margaret (Margi) Hopkins, CPSA Departing
Kendra Lapolla Helen
Amy Lindenberger, CPSA, CPX Glorious Profusion
John Middick Intensity
Michael Paolercio 324
John Smolko, CPSA, CPX Benj, No. 2 (Franklin Trustee)
Rosemary Tope White Hibiscus

Benj No. 2 (Franklin Trustee) by John Smolko
You can see another large coloured pencil drawing of Benj
in my book "Drawing 365: Tips and Techniques to Build Your Confidence and Skills"

Oregon

Teresa Allen, CPSA Time to Shine
Pat Averill, CPSA Just Hangin' Around
Kelly Collins Mussel Beach
Julie Fulkerson Horse of Kings
Donna Graham Rhoddies
Donald Griffith Time on My Hand
CJ Worlein, CPSA Stephanie
Denise Zanetta Twisted Flights of Fancy

Pennsylvania

Shawn Falchetti, CPSA Daybreak
Jeffrey Green Carol, Prayer Series 1
Linda Killingsworth Yum, Buns
Mary Beth Lesko Uncle Fritzo's Hairpiece

South Carolina

Gretchen Parker, CPSA Meet Market
Faith Wheeler, CPSA Rick and Rock

Tennessee

Dena Whitener, CPSA A Feather's Not a Bird

Tanja Gant

Texas

Helen Bailey, CPSA The Pause That Refreshes
Tanja Gant, CPSA, CPX See No Evil
Lori Garner, CPSA, CPX Mourning Light
Jesse Lane Gravity
Lisa Mills, CPSA Wren in Rome…
Irma Murray Birthday Boy

Utah

Nichole Taylor Blood, Sweat & Tears

Virginia

Alisha Brown Pink Spring Kaleidoscope
Jennifer Carpenter End of Time Flies
Sherry Smith Peachy Keen

Washington

Mike Flynn Pride of Moscow
Shirley Stallings, CPSA What?!
John Ursillo, CPSA Hydrangea-scape #2: Last Blush

Wisconsin

Jody Beighley Wisconsin River Camp
Dava Dahlgran, CPSA, CPX The Bike at Dublin Bay
Nichole Linzmeier Not Just Ivory
Rhonda Nass, CPSA God's Will, Finding Your Niche in Him

Wyoming

Eileen Nistler, CPSA,CPX Aunt Clara's Collection 3

Links:

Pages

Friday, August 07, 2015

Jeff George wins top prize at CPSA Annual International Exhibition 2015