With the winners being announced on Earth Day, in what has become Earth Month, it would be easy to interpret The Good Earth as an art competition just for environmentally minded artists. It is, in part, but we wanted to make it much broader, which is why we defined the theme as “a celebration of the unique ways artists see this planet and everything on it.” We were delighted to find that many of you who participated interpreted the theme very broadly as well, and the results were spectacular. I’m very, very proud to share with you the 14 outstanding winners in our first annual Good Earth competition.
After careful deliberation, the jurying committee finally chose Deborah Hamon’s High Achiever as the Grand Prize recipient. Deborah’s painting beautifully represents everything that CreateBetterPaintings.com stands for: exceptional craftsmanship combined with thoughtfully expressed, significant meaning. And talk about re-defining the competition theme! To us, Deborah’s painting offers a powerful, poignant social commentary about much that is both right and wrong with our world. Looking at these archetypal pre-teen girls, you can’t help but ask yourself, How are we raising our children? Is it right to push them so hard? Are we really giving them the solid foundation they need for happy and fulfilled lives? And what will they do with this planet when it’s their turn to lead the way? Notice, too, that everything about Deborah’s painting—from her composition to her use of bright, acrylic colors, to her perfectly polished surfaces—supports her theme. It’s a truly compelling image, beautifully crafted, that we are proud to call the Grand Prize winner.
Also achieving a high level of outstanding technique combined with intensely challenging meaning is Orion Fisher’s Shallow Water, which we chose to receive Highest Honors in Living Beings. In and through this young man’s eyes, I think we start to see the fears about the future that the 20-somethings must be feeling (as are many of us!). Orion’s understated use of charcoal and colored pencil underscores his message brilliantly. It must be noted that Orion is still in college, and I’m confident that he has a truly bright future ahead as an artist.
Of all the landscapes submitted, the one that stood out to the entire jury panel as deserving of Highest Honors in Places and Scenes was Marlene Steele’s oil painting of Old St. George Church. It’s a thoroughly modern representational work that touches on age-old themes: sacred versus profane, tradition versus progress, truth versus beauty. Here again, we chose Marlene’s work as an example of truly fine art of the highest caliber, a painting that is both evocative and provocative.
Rounding out our top awards is Barbara Groff’s classic pastel still life, which received Highest Honors in Objects from Nature. She may have called it Just Common Things, but this still life goes far beyond to the level of extraordinary. Her choice of objects and their arrangement suggest without defining a narrative, igniting our imagination, and her story is made all the more intriguing by her beautiful handling of her medium.
Perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of the entries into this competition was their overall diversity. As I said, the participants interpreted the theme very broadly, which is why we can now share with you such a broad array of exceptionally well-done, wonderfully thoughtful drawings and paintings as the 10 Merit Awards. Congratulations to: William Amptman, Scott Burdick, Jonathan Eilers, Justin Hayward, Marion Hylton, Susan Lyon, Drew Keilback, Terry Miura, Bruce Neville, and William Wray.
I’d like to thank all of you wonderful artists who submitted work for consideration. It was especially gratifying to see entries come in from all over the globe, including Italy, Romania, France, Canada, Mexico, and the US. Your participation is what made this competition a huge success. And of course, I must thank my editorial advisors who helped choose the winners—Tina Tammaro, Chris Comte, and Martha Newfield. (And to Tom Comte, thanks for feeding us beforehand, pumping us up with caffeine during, and pouring the champagne when the long judging process was over!) There were many, many more paintings worthy of awards than we could recognize this year, so I’ll look forward to your participation again next spring!
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