A show and a workshop

The reception for the Randolph County art show was last night and I'm sorry to report that once again I came up blank.  It's the fourth year I've walked away with nothing, and while I will continue to participate, I'm not so sure I'll make the one hour drive on a week night for the reception.  I actually knew once I looked around that I was not likely to win, the competition was pretty stiff.  In fact, a pastel won the Best of Show, which is unusual as oils are much more likely to take top honors.  The winner was Carol Strock-Wasson, a Union City artist.  As soon as I saw her piece I thought it likely to win, it really was that good. Unfortunately it's not on her website but if I see it somewhere I'll post a link.

Seeing all that talent in a small town made me realize that while I've improved hugely over the last two years, I still have a lot to learn.  Lately I've felt like I hit a bit of a plateau and have reached the limits of what I can teach myself through books and the internet and looking at other's work.  So this weekend I am taking a workshop from Cincinnati pastel artist Ray Hassard.  He is pretty well known regionally and I expect to learn a lot from him.  I'll post my thoughts on it next week.