First Place — Open Category
Yael Maimon, “Dining in May”
NFS | 12.5 x 21. 5

This pastel distinguished itself on many levels. The aerial viewpoint and lush, painterly mark making turn a pleasantly mundane scene of cats at mealtime into a nearly Darwinian race for survival. The empty red bowl at the center of the action anchors this otherwise manic scene, where paint marks vie mightily with subject matter for our rapt attention.

2nd Place — Open Category
Laurinda O’Connor, “Summertime Feel”
$500 | 12 x 12

Describing sunlit reeds, it appears, is not the only purpose of this pastel. The larger goal seems to be a lively mingling of dots, dashes and masses scuttling over a dark surface. This is what results when value, color choice and a highly skilled application of pressure to pastel, aims for a kind of energetic harmony. A deftly managed exuberance.

3rd Place — Open Category
Jeff Fioravanti, “The Seas Eternal Thrall”
$1450 | 14 x 21

This radically cropped, close-up view of a wave triumphs on several levels. On display here is an artist’s keen awareness of the power of 2D patterning and well-rendered form that together combine to depict a force on the verge of barreling right through the four sides of the painting.

First Place — Emerging Artist Category
Mary Kozlowski, “Old Friends”
$300 | 8 x 10

This vivacious piece distinguishes itself with rapid-fire mark making and a knowledgeable use of dark-light relationships. The sheer variety of pastel strokes is a delight to the eye and makes for a riveting exchange between drawing and painting ideas, each executed with an unmistakable flair.

2nd Place — Emerging Artist Category
Diane Fawley, “Peaches”
$200 | 8.5 x 11.5

This pastel is a standout for the strategic use of light-dark, as well as warm-cool contrasts. The close-up view and the negative-positive shapes that result make for a commanding still life composition.

3rd Place — Emerging Artist Category
Heidi Dumas, “Serene Sunset”
$150 | 9 x 9

This sunset scene takes a subtly poetic approach to pastel by layering up nearly diaphanous layers of delicate color. The illusion of deep space derives its power from a canny manipulation of edges from background to foreground. Starting with the crisply expressed rock forms in the foreground, the eye proceeds back to the overlapping, nearly transparent cloud formations near the horizon and beyond.