Best of Show award

“Blue and Yellow” Best of Show

Best of Show award

“Blue and Yellow” Best of Show

I’m so pleased to share that my watercolor “Blue and yellow” won the “Best of Show” award in the North Hills Art Center’s Member Show earlier this month! The center director messaged me to ask if I would be attending the opening and at that point I wasn’t sure, but they generally don’t ask unless you’ve won an award so I had a clue. I had no idea which of the three paintings I’d entered it was, though, or what award it was.

As it turned out I could attend and she greeted me and pointed out the ribbon next to my painting as soon as I entered. I had to look twice! I felt the painting had turned out well and usually hope to win an award if I enter, but I really just enjoyed entering these three new paintings. Here is just the painting.

Blue and Yellow, Watercolor, 8.25 x 8.25, 2022 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski.

Blue and Yellow, Watercolor, 8.25 x 8.25, 2022 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski.

Back in August I posted about the three paintings I’d entered. I remember thinking when I received the email about the show that I had nothing new to enter because I’d already entered all I had in other shows. Later I walked up the stairs in my house where I have my “gallery” of original artwork—it’s where larger originals and paintings that don’t fit anywhere else in the house go—and I realized I had one…no…two paintings, “Blue and Yellow” and “Slava Ukraini,” right there that were pretty much brand new and I’d only had them in my own show earlier this year. The third, “Whatsoever You Do,” was a commissioned piece but my friend agreed I could show that one or any of the others in the series.

exhibit entries

Entries for the annual member’s exhibit.

I think it’s interesting that none of them is a regular pastel because that’s my most frequent medium. I’ve created more new non-commissioned artwork this year than I have in many years, and I’m glad that I chose different media than usual and also images each of which that I’ve intended for over a decade to paint, plus one that was a freestyle watercolor that I painted with no references or guidelines, just right out of my head. I need to do more of that, and just more artwork in general.

On that note, I’m happy to say that after many years I have more commissions for pet portraits and other paintings recently, and have found more opportunities to show too. I’m going to go with that!

Participating in exhibits

One of the ways you make your work more valuable is to enter exhibits. There is no better way to get your art out in the public, possibly sell, and possibly win an award. It’s how you advance as a creative person.

I’m so pleased to be able to participate in exhibits. I miss the company of other artists, and in fact at the opening I saw two women I worked with at my last day job a couple of decades ago and now we can keep in touch through art instead of producing junk mail, which is what we did then. I’m really excited about this!

I was also really excited to see all the other artwork which was all pretty amazing, from detailed realistic paintings to abstracts as well as sculptures and ceramics. Oh, my, the ideas I came home with.

See the exhibit

If you’re local, the show will be available for viewing through September 30 during gallery hours.

Other items with the same art or design To find all items on this site with the same art or design, use the search box for the name of the artwork and you'll find all that's available.

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