I was pleased to receive an e-mail notifying me that "Marbles III" was juried into the Arizona Pastel Artists Association Spring Exhibition to be held the second half of April in Sedona, AZ.  Thank you to the judge, Leslie B. DeMille!

Recently I was honored to be asked by the Westbrook Village Fine Arts Group in Peoria, AZ to judge their annual art show.  Yesterday was the day I did the judging.  Judging is always a challenge but yesterday's task took on new dimensions for me due to the variety of art forms represented by the over 100 pieces of art:  ceramics, oil, acrylic, fused glass, gourds, watercolor, pencil, colored pencil, mixed media.  Of course, the criteria for good art crosses all media and I depended on those criteria to evaluate each piece.  Luckily, the art group is generous with their awards allowing for best of show, first, second, third, and 12 honorable mentions.  I felt good about my placements, but there were additional pieces I would have loved to recognize in some way.  Judging holds a lot of responsibility due to the possible impact of the judge's decision on each artist.  Sunday I will be meeting with the artists to discuss my choices for awards and general impressions of the show.  I hope I have the opportunity to share the strengths of their art with the many artists I was not able to award a placing in the show. 

No secret....I love painting marbles......never get tired of it....pastel or oil.   So when I was asked to give private lessons in pastel and the requested subject was marbles I did not hesitate!  In addition, the timing could not have been better as I needed a pastel painting to enter in the Arizona Pastel Artists Association's Spring Show.  "Marbles III", a 9" x 12" pastel painting, was completed today.  Yes....I do love painting marbles!