Many of the artists in the 5th Annual 2017 Illinois River Salon came to the Opening Reception and Awards Ceremony at Fayetteville Underground last night. Together we celebrated the beautiful artwork, enjoyed the hors d’oeuvres and drinks, and heard results of the judging. Jeff Legg, our judge, was also in attendance.
Congratulations to everyone on the thoughtful paintings and drawings, and especially to the winners. Without further adieu, here are the winning pieces:
The top three prizes were as follows: $2,500 Best of Show went to Lawrence McElroy for “Prairie Grove Sunrise”, $1,500 2nd Place went to Larry DeGraff for “Entangled”, and $1,000 3rd Place went to Jason Sacran for “The Grand View”.
Best of Show – “Prairie Grove Sunrise” by Lawrence McElroy
2nd Place – “Entangled” by Larry DeGraff
3rd Place – “The Grand View” by Jason Sacran
Honorable Mentions (cash prize of $500) went to Donna Jackson for “Illinois Watershed Center Pond”, Willis Miller for “Ready to Go”, Nancy Harkins for “Touch of Gold”, and Thia Schuler for “Benton County Barn”.
Honorable Mention – “Illinois Watershed Center Pond” by Donna Jackson
Honorable Mention – “Ready to Go” by Willis Miller
Honorable Mention – “A Touch of Gold” by Nancy Harkins
Honorable Mention – “Benton County Barn” by Thia Schuler
Also, merchandise awards from our sponsors went to: Kathryn Fisher for “Twilight on Sage Creek”, Julie Gowing Hayes for “Spring Fed”, Bob Snider for “Illinois River Bridge”, Pat Meyer for “Osage Flower Garden”, Virginia Grass Simmons for “At the Curve”, Charles Peer for “Oh Lovely Guardians”, Margie Moss for “Remembering a Day with Chihuly”, and Duane Hada for “Evening Float”.
Thank you again to all of the participants. We already look forward to what 2018 brings.
Again, thank you to our many sponsors, but especially the Illinois River Watershed Partnership and the Windgate Foundation.