Solomons Plein Air - Gala

The capstone Gala was held later Saturday evening at Carmen’s Gallery. This is where up to two submissions of each artist are evaluated by the judge of the event. Hiu Lai Chong of Rockville Maryland had the honor and difficult task of selecting the best of the best. After the awards were handed out, potential collectors wandered through the gallery admiring the works, talked with the artists and purchased their favorites. It was what I might call a casual chic party. The gallery and grounds were set up beautifully, and a Latin Jazz band from the College of Southern Maryland played in the background.

Mick in the center, he took it all so well!

There were a number of special awards, and I apologize for not remembering all of the titles, so I’ll call them Honorable Mentions.

Mick McAndrews won an award that I easily recall. Nearly all of the artists had completed multiple pieces, but had to choose two to submit for judging. The judge looked at all of the unsubmitted works and gave out the ‘knucklehead award’ to the painter that may have left his/her best work out of the contest. Mick won based on this ‘Beacon Marina’ piece.

One of Luc Herbots works

Another award paid tribute to Luc Herbots who passed away in June of this year. He was an amazing artist/illustrator. Neal Hughes garnered the award given for a work that emphasized architecture.

Neal Hughes

In the pace of the awards, and my lack of memory, I think I missed the next two honorable mentions, though I'm pretty confident in saying the second one is Greg Johannesen's piece notable for his use of color - particularly the blue in the water.

Carole Pierson won an Honorable Mention for her interpretation of what appears to be an old abandoned house. It has a deep mysterious and yet tranquil feel for me.

Stephan Giannini received an award for his nocturnal painting of the iconic Tiki Bar. Its use of light and dark was just gorgeous.

Debra Howard's effort

Debra Howard received an “Out of the Box” award for her amazing take on some jelly fish. My guess is that she was at the Calvert Marine Museum to see these creatures. The use of color and contrast is wonderful.

Raymond Ewing's piece being shown

Raymond Ewing earned the coveted Artist’s Choice award, which is voted on solely by all of the artists in the competition. His painting of a sailboat in a slip has great depth to it.

John Cagianno took a Third Place Ribbon for “No Strings” rendition of a boat in the Calvert Marina Boat Yard.

John on the left with a big smile

JoEllen Murphy captured the Second Place Ribbon for a piece showing a sailboat at Zahniser’s Marina. It’s a very strong composition.

Patrick Lee earned the First Place Blue Ribbon for his waterfront painting. The judge, Hui Lai Chong, had been giving gracious descriptions of the merits for each previous award. It was getting a little late by this time and guests were arriving. I’ll paraphrase Hui Lai’s summary as saying; “you just did everything right.” Very well done Patrick, very well done.

Bruno Baran

The next story arc speaks volumes of the artists’ community. There was a family tragedy early in the week of one of the artists causing them to drop out of the festival. There was a very special tribute just prior to the awards with Bruno Baran sharing some very caring words. Beyond that though, was an incredible gesture unfolding during the evening.  An easel with paints was set up next to a small table with a glass of wine. Each and every artist present painted just a small portion of the tableau. The end result was beautiful. The painting was delivered to their colleague on Sunday. It’s a stunning example of what community can be.

Elissa Gore

Ray Ewing

Crystal Moll

Just one artist was left to finish the work.

Carole Pierson signing the back of a painting

The rest of the evening was spent mingling and nibbling on the amazing spread of heavy hors d’oeuveres.

We did come upon Deb's twin - Tara Will. Great minds think alike. Aren't they gorgeous!

Deb and I left the event with a deep sense of gratitude for being a witness to all that went on through the week.  Can’t wait to do it again next year!