No one could have been more surprised (or felt more awkward) than Mark Coates, president of the Boothbay Region Art Foundation board of directors, upon hearing his name follow the phrase “Best In Show” at the Boothbay Region Art Foundation Saturday, Oct. 13.

 

I had spoken with Mark awhile before the awards were presented and he was already feeling awkward about having two paintings chosen for the show. But, when his name was announced, while his face was definitely reddening a bit, the group was thoroughly pleased for him - and showed it by loud applause and a few whoops and hollers (although that could have been me).

 

“I did feel awkward at first at having work selected for the show - but I was reminded by the Art in ME! committee members that this is a blind jury process and every entry has the same opportunity to be selected based on the juror’s selected criteria,” Coates said. “I am very honored to be in the exhibit, and having admired Connie Hayes as an artist and art educator, I was totally blown away to be chosen as Best in Show!”

 

Mark’s piece, an oil painting entitled “Wash Day," depicts a quiet scene of a home in the woods with white sheets drying on the clothesline. The sky is blue but only slightly visible because the wooded area is so densely populated with evergreen and deciduous varieties. On a nearby tree a scarecrow or totem-like creature is affixed on its trunk. Aside from the sky, it provides the only bright color in the painting. There’s a serenity not just seen, but felt, while taking it in.

 

This was the first year all entries were completely digital. Of the 200 entries (give or take a few), juror Connie Hayes chose just 69 pieces - including mixed media, assemblage, sculpture, and paintings in all media for the show.

 

Hayes could not attend the opening reception and awards presentation, but her decision-making process was shared through BRAF board member and award presenter extraordinaire Sarah Wilde. Hayes wrote, “Images afforded a wide range of voices and skills. The work I selected was my response to elements of design, color and form ... What I liked about all the work I saw was enthusiasm for working with their materials and using individual voice to show the power of transformation.”

 

Coates’ Best In Show placing came with a $500 prize. Hayes said “Wash Day” “represented a range of different ways to use control and freedom at the same time. It was well organized, but fresh; it didn’t look like it was a struggle putting the paint down - it was direct, and very complicated. (The scene) felt like Maine, but not the cliche it's marketed as. Sensation must be there (in a painting). I could feel the temperature of the woods; the geometry of the piece was very strong - the way he used the mound of the foreground where the rocks ... your eye moves from the upper left down to that bright splash of red on the scarecrow on the tree, the bright gem in the painting. What Mark left out of the painting is significant. This is a complex and masterful painting - for me it really was Best In Show.”

 

Second Place ($300 prize) was awarded to Maxwell Nolin of Belfast for his oil painting on board entitled “Polly.” Said Hayes, “This painting is clearly about the tradition of mastery. It’s a riff on the history of portraiture. This person has experience with the anatomy of the face and demonstrated masterful use of the elements (light vs dark, etc.) .. . This piece is tightly constructed and carefully edited. The use of the halo, and all of the symbolism on a flattened disk is lit by the luminosity of the light in the painting. It is a masterful use of multiple traditions throughout painting history, but updated while hinting at historical iconography. The symbolism ... it was almost like he was saying there are many religions - old and new - without being too didactic. When a piece is that astonishing, it makes you stop and look at it. This painting celebrates the everyday person, yet it has a spatial illusion to it.”

 

Franciska Needham of Damariscotta won Third Place ($250 prize) for “Contra Dance” in acrylic. Hayes thought it had a “gestural, energetic quality.” “I liked the direct application of paint; the brushwork was fluid and fit the topic. The artist demonstrated good use of the scale of the figures. It was joyful, but not silly. The painting shows an ability to let go of correctness in favor of sensation. And, even though it’s not an atmospheric painting, it gave a sense of space through scale.”

 

Honorable Mentions ($100  prizes):  Jeanne Ouelette - Lovell; Linda Murray - West Gardner; Kathryn Leeson-Kight - Alfred; Jean Kigel - Waldoboro; and Jennifer Litchfield of Trevett.

 

Cash prizes for ARTinME were generously provided by Sherman’s Book & Stationery, First National Bank, Conley’s Garden Center, Boothbay Harbor Framers & Gallery, Knickerbocker Group and Boothbay Region Art Foundation. The People’s Choice Award has been discontinued.

 

ARTinME runs through Nov. 13. The BRAF gallery, located at 1 Townsend Ave. in Boothbay Harbor, is open Monday – Saturday 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. For more information, give the gallery a call at 633-2703 or visit https://boothbayartists.org