2017 Visual Arts Contest Winners

2^nd Place
Name: Sharon Wang

Judge

Walt Kisner is faculty emeritus of St. John’s School, Houston, Texas. He is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Walt graduated from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He received a Master of Arts degree from the University of Texas in Austin, and a Master of Arts degree from St. John’s College in Maryland. Walt has taught art and art history at St. John’s School and has served as the curriculum coordinator for Middle School Fine Arts. While a member of the Texas Art Education Association (TAEA) and the National Art Education Association he received training from TAEA to juror Visual Arts Scholastic Events (VASE). The main emphasis in his art is painting. Walt’s work will be featured at *de stijl Podium For Art in Austin in May.

*de stijl Podium For Art is the correct way this gallery spells their name with the small d in de stijl.

Judge's Comments

What is it like to be in a place where everyone is saying something you really want to hear or doing something you really want to see? You must experience and appreciate each one individually. That is similar to what it was like in the presence of the artwork done by the students this year. It was an absolute delight to see their splendid efforts. We applaud each one for their praiseworthy achievements.

Group (A) Works on Paper

1^st Place — Taqi Hasnain
Taqi auspiciously used how we as human beings understand our environment, and how we respond to it. She created a milieu of her own for this very imaginative piece. It took artistic courage and inventiveness to make this image work. The changeable surface treatment, marks and patterns operate really well together.

2^nd Place — Arianna Lim
Arianna’s mastery of the use of colored pencil is amazing. Her understanding of color matching and technical skill in mixing and blending her colors to get the affect of the value changes and rich textural implications, make this a truly fine drawing. The way the composition is structured helps us focus on the surprise expression in the face of the central figure.

Honorable Mention — Chris Choi
Chris’ choice of medium and technique is the perfect match for this figure. His willingness not to be afraid to fail brings a level of authenticity and strength to this work. The energy and sense of spontaneity in the work sets it on a very high plane.

Group (A) Oil Paintings

1^st Place — Emily Yang
Emily’s painting of this lithesome and refined dancer is an amazing combination of artistic exuberance, and sagacity. She captured nicely the expressive movements of the dancer.

2^nd Place — Sharon Wang
The power of this painting by Sharon Wang is its unimpeded emphasis on the musician’s hand and instrument. The severe cropping in the composition works really well. She has also given a sense of the type of sounds that this kind of guitar makes. She convinces the viewer of the sounds that an electric guitar can make via the abstraction and sharp contrasts in her painting.

Group B

1^st Place — Sharon Lin
This fine painting by Sharon Lin is full of tender symbols often employed by composers in their own compositions. The spacious setting that she created serves nicely to pull the various images together. The cool, dreamy palette also helps with the harmony of the work.

2^nd Place — Melody Zhang
The exciting graceful gesture of the ballerina as she performs a grand e’cart is made even more spectacular by the change of value in the background colors of the painting. The overlapping colors and energetic brushwork in key areas are very effective. I encourage her to keep that momentum moving forward.

Honorable Mention — Olivia Ding
Olivia’s use of her chosen medium, colored pencil, is the outstanding feature of this drawing. Beautiful changes in color and textures are nicely and richly reproduced.

Group C

1^st Place — Eshing Ji
Eshing created a very strong composition with just a few clearly seen images. He has left a great deal to our imagination. That principle generates a lot of curiosity and our eyes are drawn to the painting. He even makes us wonder what song the subject of the painting is playing that has set such a “blue” mood.

2^nd Place — Judy Yang
Judy has designed a bright, happy setting for this group. Forming the key to the success of this composition is the placement of the largest figures. The smaller figure and other items in the painting weave everything together. It’s almost as if the group invites us to participate.

Group D

1^st Place — De-Jen Jennie Wang
The merriment of this piece is the obvious delight that De Jen had in creating it. The blending and mixing of her colors is coming along nicely. She has filled the air of her drawing with music coming from the charming little critter in the tree. I encourage her to continue to be this imaginative and inventive.