Matthews Alive Art Show & Competition Award Winners

The McDowell Arts Center was crowded Thursday night with excited artists milling around the artwork up for competition in this year's Matthews Alive Art Show & Competition. All entrants were allowed to submit 2 works of art. There was a total of 66 entrants with over 120 works. The works were judged by gallery owner, Christie Taylor, of Hodges Taylor Gallery in Charlotte. Show Chair, Debbie Yacenda read the judges comments about each work before announcing the winner.

Here are this year's winners:

$400 First Place: Barbara Jimison next to "Be Right Back" 

taken during Matthews Alive Festival

A delightful watercolor capturing a sense of time and place - the back view of the chair, with its cropped edges puts the viewer right in the moment. Chair legs cast pier-like shadows, reminding us of the shifting tides. The sparkle of water is an added hint of day well spent.

$200 Second Place: "Chevre in the Making" by Judy Mizell

Masterful control of watercolor medium– yet feels fresh and spontaneous. The delicate treatment of the metal pipes, playing against the floating concrete feeding trough - creates a dreamlike state. Are we seeing several goats –or just one in motion?

$100 Third Place: "The Bear and the Angel" by Michael Hutchinson

The juxtaposition of disparate objects creates a playful yet provocative image. Subtle shifts of light and shadow reinforce the balanced composition. Classical and clever 

Honorable Mention #1: Carlos Cotera for "Heliconias"

Effective use of complementary colors balances nicely with the impressive handling of paint

Honorable Mention #2: Ken Hutchins for "American Wigeon"

Remarkable attention to detail, finely crafted. Masterful understanding of subject matter and materials

Honorable Mention #3: Dottie Leatherwood for "Lofty Goals"

The expressive brush strokes bring energy to the subject matter-allowing the viewer to be in the moment. Evident that the artist enjoys the painting process

Honorable Mention #4: Rebecca McDuffie for "The Captain"

Lovely handling of medium. Particularly like how the artist treated the face with such sensitive detail and then abstracted the clothing – bringing the viewer’s attention to his expression.

Honorable Mention #5: Sharron Burns for "Sourpuss"

A difficult subject matter treated with skillful understanding of medium. 

Honorable Mention #6: Connie Snipes for "Relaxing Evening, Can Can, Richmond"

Gestural painting style and strong composition creates an inviting

setting

Honorable Mention #7: Suzanne Wilson for "Fantasy Forest"

Seemingly accidental yet deliberate, an effective use of positive and negative space 

Honorable Mention #8: John Moeslein for "Rockwell Mill"

Nice play of light and shadow. Well-balanced composition.

Thanks to Binders Art Supplies and Cheap Joe's for donating gift certificates to Honorable Mention Winners.

Thanks to Ron Yates for taking photos at the event.

Thanks to Ken Vogel and Meg Nelson for serving the wine.