Our Summer 2024 Exhibit - "That Special Place" - was held from June 16-August 4, 2024 at the Rahr West Art Museum,
610 N 8th St, Manitowoc, WI 54220.
The reception was on Sunday, 
June 23rd, 1:00 - 3:00pm.
Here are the Award Winners for this Exhibit.
(To see the winning entries and the judge's comments for each painting,
click here: Summer 2024 Award Winners.)
Best of Show – "Tumbling with the Terns" by Roberta Condon (see right)
First Place –"Fast Train to Paris" by Audrey Dulmes
Second Place – "Dressed in Pink" by Suzanne Manthe
Third Place – "Last Sleep in Rome" by Darcy Doiel
Artists' Choice - "The Road Not Taken" by Rosalie Beck
Honorable Mentions:
- "Northern Peace" by Mary Rypel Anderson
- "Rural Rain" by Chris Behrs
- "The Weight of the Sky" by Jeanne Bril
- "Sunrise on the Dunes" by Rita Burnap
- "Two Friends" by Debbie Callahan
- "Salmon Running" by Julia Pagenkopf
Our judge for this show was David Carpenter, a Manitowoc artist and educator. Here are his opening comments about the exhibit: "I am honored that I was asked to judge this year‘s pastel artist exhibit. As a drawing teacher, I try to express to my students that your subject matter is your inspiration, not your goal. It is the artist's decisions about how to express that subject matter that makes a work interesting. What kind of mark to make. When to use
subtlety or when to be bold, and how to keep that delicate balance between the two in check. Pastels are one of my favorite mediums to look at because the very nature of the medium celebrates these decisions. It is a medium that craves the hand of the artist to remain evident, so for me this is an exciting show to judge."
Mr. Carpenter currently teaches drawing and painting at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in addition to St. Norbert College. He earned his Master of Fine Arts at the New York Academy of Art and has lived in Manitowoc the last ten years though he grew up in New Haven, Indiana. Carpenter excels in a number of different styles and media and his murals can be seen inside the entrance of the Manitowoc Public Library (the storybook mural) and the new typographic mural at Pinecrest Village. Those interested can see many examples of his paintings and sketches @david.carpenter on Instagram.
(Taken from the article "Art Forward: David Carpenter Makes Sense of the World," in seehafernews.com, dated July 14, 2021.)
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Our Fall 2024 exhibit - "GALACTIC RADIATION" -
is held at: 
722 East Burleigh Street, Milwaukee.
Exhibit dates: August 30, 2024-October 2, 2024.
Opening Reception was:
Friday, September 6th, 6:30 - 8:30 pm.
Here are the Award Winners for this Exhibit.
(Photos of the winning can be viewed by clicking 2024 Exhibit Award Winners.)
Best of Show – “Slanted Perspective”- Chris Behrs
First Place – “The Tower View” - Jeanne Bril
Second Place – “A Picnic Day” - Julia Pagenkopf
Third Place – “View From Grant Park”- Marcia Gorra-Patek
Honorable Mentions:
- “Just Looking” - Renee Couture
- “Sundown, Newport Beach” - Thom Jeffers
Merchandise Awards:
- “South Shore Nocturne" - Judy Grochowski
- “Morning Surf" - Rita Burnap
Artists' Choice Award: - "Storm over Southshore" - Jeanne Bril
We are very grateful to our judge for this exhibit, James Hempel, who has a studio in Milwaukee. He paints original oil paintings and provides weekly art classes for all levels. He also does commissioned portraits and landscapes. Here is some additional information taken from an interview by Randy Rasmussen in the Door County Pulse (Oct. 2, 2015):
"James is a classically trained artist whose work I think reflects his attention to detail. Impeccable composition is seen in all his work. Thinking back, I can remember always enjoying the sensory interaction with the visual nature of the world. I grew up being exposed to art in our home. It was a wonderful environment. I went to Appleton East High School. I took some art classes but I think in retrospect I could have taken more. I was in band and that took up time but I always, even in high school, drew and painted. I think my interest in science and math did in one sense help me understand the organic nature of art. My degree is in biology and I have always enjoyed going to natural history museums. Once again I think it helped in my visual orientation of the world. In college I did portraits as I continued to refine my artistic skills and at graduation I started teaching in Shorewood and Whitefish Bay as a substitute. I am a representative artist. Maybe a bit impressionist, a bit expressionistic. I know the value of a strong drawing. I like to see the effect of light in a good, solid painting."
Wisconsin Pastel Artists is very grateful to Blick Art Materials for their donation of two $100 gift certificates to be used in our awards program.
Click here to visit Blick's website for "110,000+ art supplies!"
