What a beautiful show of 107 different types of original art! Bravo to everyone who had a piece in this gorgeous show. Special congratulations to everyone who won a ribbon. They are listed below along with the judges comments. The photos of the winners are above.
Special thank you to Bonnie Vargas for hauling the art racks to and from the library as well as purchasing and creating the items on our lovely refreshment table.
Special thank you to Ann Eifler for collecting the info and images for me and creating the tags. Thank you to Eva for collecting the money, and thank you Michele also for all the help in hanging the pieces and helping with tear down. Thank you to Cathy Martin for coordinating the peoples choice award. It takes a village to have a show like this come together along with much coordinating behind-the-scenes.
There were also four pieces sold at the show!
Bonnie Vargas sold two… “Mystical Spring” and “Silent Snow”
Mary Barrios “Coffee Break”, Eva Balek “Concern”
Great job and congratulations!
Best of show… Mary Lenert, “Harley” Great color pencil… Beautiful colors and values. Very nice use of lost and found edges as well.
Best digital… Barb Gore, “Pink Lady’s Slipper”
Great composition and depth.
First place… Mary Powers, “Nature’s Beauty”
Like the textures and color values, great movement.
First place… Bonnie Vargas, “Grandpa’s Warbirds” Nice painting on a simple subject. Painting flows across the canvas.
First place… Tonia Jackson, “Cicada” Great movement within the piece. Great color values as well.
First place… Mary Rodriguez, “Good Hair Day”
Great photo on a simple every day event.
Second place… Carolyn Kraft, “Indian Shores”
Nice control of color, values and depth.
Second place… Carol Kling, “After the Party”
Very nice arrangement of composition and color values.
Second place and People’s Choice…
Cloud Mary, “Shoogie”
Really like the layers of paint and brush work.
Second place… Susan Zeiser, “Can You See Me” Great photo subject and layers of depth.
Third place… Michele Tanner-Hubbartt,
“Just One Kiss” Great arrangement and color values. Fresh looking.
Third place… Mary Lenert, “Reclaimed”
Very nice composition and depth. Interesting viewpoint.
Third place… Allan Smith, “Folly Farm”
Nice use of color and values throughout the painting.
Third place… David Nelson, “Upper Dells Cliff, WI” Very sharp and interest in layers of shadows.
The Aurora Art League has a couple of displays showcasing the member’s talents. We have two for the month of August. One is at the Sugar Grove Library, at 125 Municipal Drive, Sugar Grove, and the theme of this show is Sunflowers!
The second is at Grainology, a new brewery in Batavia, 131 Flinn Street, Suite C, Batavia. We would love it if you could stop in if you are in either neighborhood to view our artwork!
Also, September 6th and 7th is our Annual Member’s Show at the Santori Library, 101 S. River Street in Aurora. This juried show will have a reception at 5:30pm on Friday the 6th, featuring the music of John Papadolius. The show runs from noon on Friday, through 4:00 pm on Saturday.
The 65th Annual Aurora Art League Member’s Show was a great success!
It was held Friday, September 1, through Saturday September 2, 2023 at the Santori Aurora Public Library, 101 S. River Street, Aurora, IL
The live music at the Artist’s Reception, held of Friday evening, was again provided by John Papadolius.
37 artists participated, displaying 98 pieces, and our judge this year was Rafael Rocha.
This year’s winners with our judge’s comments:
Best of Show, Bonnie Vargus, “Nature’s Canvas” oil, The use of color to set the mood of the setting and rising sun is fantastic. There is a great sense of depth to image with the pull of the horizon line. The thick application of paint underneath the clouds greatly adds further dimension and depth. The color transition from yellow to blue in the sky truly adds visual interest and holds the viewer’s attention. Wonderful piece.
Best Digital, Mary Rodriguez,“Edgewater in Seattle”, photo on metal. Wonderful composition. Really captured the mood of the time of day. The light reflection on the water pulls viewer’s eyes into the bottom of the composition, great for a viewer to visually wander around the image.
1st Place and People’s Choice: Julie Vander Meulen, “Camouflage” soft pastel. Great use of realism to the subject. The directional application of media does a great job at highlighting for texture. The eyes have a special sense of gravity with the shiny reflection of pupils. The foggy background provides a sense of rest for the eye, and lets the subject shine.
1st Place, Cath Carroll, “Find Your Way on 30th Street”, oil. The play of shadows on the sidewalk do a great job at creating visual interest. There is a good deal of reference to the time of day with colors and values used on buildings. The texture and materiality of subject is also well depicted with media, application and color use.
1st Place, Ann Eifler “Prairie Path” oil and cold wax. Great choice of wide panel format to highlight the expanse of landscape. The paint application does a great job at creating dimension, as well as highlighting the play of media. There is a great balance between warm and cool tones that lets the viewer travel through the work in a playful way.
1st Place Digital, Victor Von Ehr “Frog”. Wonderful capture of array of colors on leaves. The frog does a great job of camouflage into the composition. Greatly enjoy the warm touches of leaves to highlight the cool color dominance of image.
2nd Place Tara Ginocchio “Unbecoming Ill”, acrylic, oil, cold wax. The texture and heavy media application greatly strengthen the composition. Enjoy the play of geometric subject matter, and the contract between warm and cool colors. There’s is a great sense of depth to the image with the transition of values within subjects. The framing/presentation does a great job at letting one piece speak to the viewer.
2nd Place, Jen Hunger, “Valley of Fire State Park”, oil and cold wax. The highlights and shadows do a wonderful job of creating depth. There is a sense of fun play with the application of media that is visible throughout the entire composition. Really appreciate the abstract approach to the shrubbery, as it goes from foreground on right, to background on left. The play of warm tones on rocks and cool tones and sky are merged well with the subtle violet tones in the landscape.
2nd Place, Mary Shoemaker “Red Ball”, clay monoprint. The play with the colors in the composition are rich and visually engaging. There is a great sense of visual energy with the play of mark making and color use. Appreciated the areas of rich color saturation combined with transparent areas.
2nd Place Digital, Barb Gore, “Arrowleaf Balsamroot” The grouping of the flowers are well positioned within the picture. The yellow flowers give great reference to the sunlight hitting them. The out of focus foliage in the background lets the yellow flowers really become the focal point.
3rd Place, Helen Ratzlow “Butterfly 10”3rd Place, Dale Dobies “Butterflies are Forever” mixed media. The abstracted subject is well highlighted by the media application. The dominance of cool tones is balanced by the red outline of the subject. Overall the piece has a great sense of minimalism that highlights ideals of contemporary art.
3rd Place, Dale Dobies “Butterflies are Forever”, glass mosaic. The subject is well framed within the composition. The background does a great job of creating dimension with the shifting value and shapes. The reflective pieces within the butterfly add an extra touch of visual play to the piece.
3rd Place, Mary Anne Cummings “Fairy Staircase”, soft pastel. The play of light within the piece create strong visual movement throughout the composition. The play with media is strong with contrast of direct subject depictions well as abstracted expressionistic references to subjects. Very strong composition with push of depth and dimension.
3rd Place Digital, John Stark, “Two Sisters with Mom” The composition has a great sense of narrative with the grouping of people. The figure to the right balances the heavy directional weight, the two central figures give the composition. There is great contrast in the mixture of values giving the images interesting, visual presence.
Congratulations to everyone on a fine show, featuring so many types of media.
The 64th Annual Aurora Art League Member’s Show is coming soon!
Friday, September 2, 2022, beginning at noon with Artist Reception 5:30-8:30pm.
Santori Aurora Public Library
101 S. River Street, Aurora, IL
The show will be open to the public and continue through Saturday September 3, 4pm, during regular library hours. There will again be live music provided at the Artist Reception by John Papadolius.
Friday, September 3, 2021, beginning at noon with Artist Reception 5:30-8:30pm.
Santori Aurora Public Library
101 S. River Street, Aurora, IL
The show was open to the public this year and continued through Saturday September 4, 4pm, during regular library hours. There was live music provided at the Artist Reception by John Papdolius.
“The Wolf”, soft pastel, by Julie Vander Meulen
2021 Member’s Show Ribbon Winners
This year’s judge was Jessica Ritchie, a very experienced art teacher from West Aurora School District 129. This is what she had to say about the winning pieces of artwork:
Best in Show: Eloise, pastel by Susan Fichtel. Details and sharpness incredible while remaining soft and realistic – clearly adores this person.
Best Digital: Mysterious Orchid, Photographic print by Richard Capps. Blackest blacks and white whites; hyper focus and interesting composition. The details of the flower are accentuated with the push of lights and darks.
1st Place: Pylotte, colored pencil by Eva Balek. Detail draws you in while colors and foreshadowing of the hand keep you moving around the composition; incredible detail.
1st Place: Night Storm, watercolor by Kendra Nohl. Lovely colors blending without becoming muddy. Brightness of yellow-orange sky pops against the blue/purple.
1st Place: In Retrospect, colored pencil by Mary Lenert. Incredible atmospheric perspective while maintaining contract of sharp/soft edges. Realistic colors yet softened; beautiful composition.
2nd Place: Irreparable Divide, clay monoprint by Mary Shoemaker. Subtle composition while maintaining details to draw you into the piece. Subtle colors work well together.
2nd Place: Washed Ashore, colored pencil by Joy Wheeler. Incredibly detailed photo-realistic while remaining soft. Slight colors pull you in to look closely at the small details.
2nd Place: Old Acquaintances, oil and cold wax by Ann Eifler. Stunning soft application of the wax and oil. Beautifully balanced compositions pulls you in to see the blues and greens that are grayed out but still vibrant.
3rd Place: Arizona 1961, acrylic by Rick Aurora. Bold composition and color grabs attention. Super contrast! Interesting perspective on car and fun brushwork.
3rd Place: Ancestors, oil by Kathy Millen. Buttery texture of the paint. Rich colors – soft and smooth texture mimic the seriousness of the composition and the subject matter.
3rd Place: Sunrise Sunset, oil by Bonnie Vargas. Lovely brightness of the sun as if you are actually looking – you want to look away not to hurt eyes. Texture helps make the clouds come to life. Reflection of sun is convincing while painterly.
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The next meeting will be Wednesday, November 13, 2024. We will gather at 6:00pm and the meeting will start at 6:30 pm. If there is a change of date, time and/or location, you will be notified via email or the monthly newsletter or a posting on the website. This last meeting of the year will be held at the Messenger Library, 113 Oak Street, North Aurora, in the large conference room.
