Monday, October 7, 2013

Society of Animal Artists Exhibition

Last weekend I had the privilege and responsibility of being a prize juror for the Society of Animal Artists' annual exhibition in Bennington, Vermont.

Cindy House, "Flight Over the Dunes in Autumn," 16x20 inches, pastel 
In the prizewinning pastel above, the birds were set within a sumptuously textured landscape rendered in pastel.

Guy Coheleach, "Cooling Off," 24x36, oil
The exhibit included animals of all shapes and sizes, from familiar large mammals such as lions, tigers, giraffes, and elephants, to less familiar subjects, such as diving gannets, a bronze octopus, and a flying fish. 

Tucker Bailey, "Rocket Man," Bronze
The organization encourages the portrayal not only of wild animals, but also of domesticated ones, such as this exuberant life-size bronze titled "Rocket Man," which won the hearts of everyone. Caught in joyous mid-leap, it portrays "Rocky," the mixed-breed offspring of a female dog who arrived pregnant on the artist's doorstep. Rocky sat in Tucker's lap as she sculpted him, and her knowledge of her subject really shines through.

The exhibit will continue at the Bennington Center for the Arts in Vermont through October 31, and then will tour to New Jersey, Arizona, and Georgia through 2014.
----
Society of Animal Artists
Tucker Bailey
Cindy House 
Guy Coheleach
List of participating artists
at

3 comments:

  1. n/aOctober 7, 2013 at 11:59 PM

    I'm not an artist or judge, but the winner seems to have won the landscape award, not the animal award.

    What am I missing?

    ReplyDelete
  2. James GurneyOctober 8, 2013 at 2:57 AM

    Scott, Cindy House's pastel piece didn't win the top award but rather one of the special awards that recognized use of medium. But you're right: the emphasis was on the landscape, as was the case with several other images in the show. In some images the animals were front and center, but other images concentrated on the environment the animal was living in, an approach I've also seen work well in paleoart.

    ReplyDelete
  3. VickiOctober 8, 2013 at 5:24 PM

    I love the tiger. Is is weird that what it reminds me of is the dying Ophelia by John Everett Millais? It's just that business of lying in shallow water I guess.

    ReplyDelete

Due to a high level of spam we must moderate comments. Please identify yourself by name or social media handle so we know you're not a 'bot.'