Congratulations to the 18 cash and merchandise award winners at the Arkansas Territory Exhibition opening last Thursday. Special congratulations to Tim C Tyler for his painting chosen as Best of Show. The show was judged by Mindy Besaw, of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Here’s the complete list of winners:

Driehaus Foundation Best of Show $5000, Tim Tyler, Antelope Hills October

Historic Cane Hill Award of Excellence, Anne Spoon, Upland Cotton

Dr. Van Dyke Dentistry Award of Excellence, Bobby Martin, Pursuit of Civilization #6

Centennial Bank Award of Distinction, Kerry Peeples, Concrete Patina

Bob and Sharon Wasson Award of Distinction, Jamie Craddock-Johnson, Ozark Mountain View

Artwork Archive Award, LS Eldridge, Losing Traction

Vasari Oils Award, Linda Dunbar, The Pocket Watch Badge

Vasari Oils Award, Larry DeGraff, Caddo Remembrance

Jerry’s Artarama Award, Autumn Blaylock, In Reference to Stamps

R&F Handmade Paints Award, Nancy Boren, Osage Continuum

Ampersand Award, Pat Meyer, Arkansas Apple Blossom

Jack Richeson and Company Award, Caddo Bears Fishing, Diana Harvey

Blick Art Materials Award, Mike Larsen, The Last General

Jack Richeson and Company Award, Judy Crowe, Discovering Georgia

Jack Richeson and Company Award, Charles Peer, Very Late in the Fall

Golden Artist Colors Award, Lawrence McElroy, Witness Tree Oak

Gamblin Award, David Andrus, Gospel Light

Chartpak Award, Glenn Benson, Buffalo River

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.

We are excited to announce that Julie Hayes will become a part of the administration of Heart of America Artists’ Association. Julie is a natural fit with our organization, and she will add be able to help us take the mission of HOAAA much further.

She’s also an excellent artist, which makes her an even better partner. You might remember she was one of the winners of the 2015 Illinois River Salon. You can see her work at http://juliehayesart.com.

Thanks Julie. We look forward to having you on board as we strive to elevate the arts here in the heart of America.

Many of the participating artists were present to hear the judge, Chad Alligood, present the awards. Chad is Curator at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Speaking from his experience with art and artists around the United States, he gave high compliments to the quality of the work at the Illinois River Salon.

The 2015 Illinois River Salon features nearly 75 works by 50 different artists. The participating artists came from all over the Midwest including Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, Illinois, Colorado and Wisconsin, all in an effort to record their artistic impression of the Illinois River Watershed. For those of us that call this region home, we are grateful because their efforts help us be proud and remind us of the beauty we have here. The exhibition is made possible thanks to a grant from the Windgate Foundation.

We are pleased to announce this year’s winners:

Best of Show and $2,500 went to Michele Wells of St. Louis, Missouri, for her painting “Day Break”. Michele also had the honor of winning the Artists’ Choice award, voted on by the artists on Wednesday evening.

“Day Break” by Michele Wells, Soft Pastel, 16×20, $960

Second Place and $1,500 went to Julie Gowing Hayes of Bella Vista, Arkansas, for her painting “Sager Creek Bubbly”.

“Sager Creek Bubbly” by Julie Gowing Hayes, Oil, 8×10, $425

Third Place and $1,000 went to Nancy Harkins of Tulsa, Oklahoma, for her painting “Sunlight on Cedar Creek”.

“Sunlight on Cedar Creek” by Nancy Harkins, Watercolor, 16×16, $975

Honorable Mentions went to five individuals: Becky Porter of Bella Vista, Arkansas; Judy Howard of Fayetteville, Arkansas; Julie Miller of Sapulpa, Oklahoma; Roseanne Kissee of Bentonville, Arkansas; and Gil Adams of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“Across the Pasture” by Judy Howard, Soft Pastel, 13×9, $350

“Glimmer of Hope” by Becky Porter, Oil, 12×16, $1,400

“Shadow Play” by Julie Miller, Oil, 14×18, $800

“The Pool at Natural Falls” by Roseanne Kissee, Oil, 18×24, $800

“Cave Springs House on Highfill” by Gil Adams, Oil, 16×20, $1,275

The whole show of over 75 artworks will be on display at the Illinois River Watershed Partnership Learning Center in Cave Springs, Arkansas till November 28th and are viewable on weekdays from 9am till 4pm, and Saturdays from 9am till 2pm. There will be a public reception for the paintings that are still unsold at the same location on November 28th from 2-4pm.

To inquire about purchasing any of these, contact Todd Williams at (479) 685-0294.

We are thankful for all of the tremendous effort that went into making the artworks, and we hope you’ll get a chance to view the show in Cave Springs or online HERE.

The night of October 2nd was the opening reception at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art for the 2014 Illinois River Salon, featuring 28 selections from the larger show of over 75 artworks (viewable digitally here). Judge and Curator of Crystal Bridges, Manuela Well-Off-Man, spent considerable time evaluating the artworks for a total of 11 awards. We are pleased to announce this year’s winners:

Best of Show and $2,500 went to Jason Sacran of Magazine, Arkansas, for his painting “Fog, Mist & Rain”.

Jason Sacran, “Fog, Mist and Rain”, 20×24, Oil, $3,600

Merit Awards (or Second Place Awards) of $1,000 each, went to five individuals: David Andrus of Siloam Springs, Arkansas; Becky Christenson of Bentonville, Arkansas; Charles Peer of Siloam Springs, Arkansas; Becky Porter of Bella Vista, Arkansas; and Michele Wells of St. Louis, Missouri.

David Andrus, “River Valley Farm Pond”, 11×14, Oil, $500

Becky Christenson, “Freshly Cut”, 16×20, Oil, $1,600

Charles Peer, “Silent Drama”, 30×24, Soft Pastel, $1,600

Becky Porter, “Summer Morning Light”, 18×24, Oil, SOLD

Michele Wells, “Morning Glory”, 12×16, Soft Pastel, $600

Honorable Mentions went to five individuals: Gil Adams of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Ken Chapin of Kansas City, Missouri; Nancy Harkins of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Julie Gowing Hayes of Bella Vista, Arkansas; and Diane Stinebaugh of Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Gil Adams, “Siloam Springs Morning”, 12×12, Oil, $875

Ken Chapin, “From His Upper Chambers”, 22×28, Oil, $1,400

Nancy Harkins, “Lotus and Lily Pads”, 12×14, Watercolor, $550

Julie Gowing Hayes, “Party Barge”, 20×30, Oil, SOLD

Diane Stinebaugh, “Favorite Walk”, 18×23, Charcoal and Conte, $395

The whole show of over 75 artworks will be on display at the Illinois River Watershed Partnership Learning Center in Cave Springs, Arkansas till November 14th and are viewable on weekdays from 9am till 4pm. There will be a public reception for the paintings that are still unsold at the same location on November 8th from 10am-4pm.

To inquire about purchasing any of these, contact Todd at (479) 685-0294.

We are thankful for all of the tremendous effort that went into making the artworks, and we hope you’ll get a chance to view the show in Cave Springs or online HERE.

Photo by Brad Hampton

In a 24-hour period, from 5pm, November 2, 2013 through 4pm, November 3, 2013, John completed 24 paintings of Siloam Springs, his hometown. It was a challenge he thought of and wanted to take after spending years developing his outdoor painting technique. As far as known, he is the only artist to have tried this. Friends were staying up on his progress through Facebook, and a few even showed up to stay with him through the wee hours of the night. There was so much excitement about the event that all pieces were sold out before were even finished, so the reception at Four Corners Frame & Design really was more of a show instead of a sale. The pieces can be viewed here.

Disney Painting Techniques

$2,500 Best of Show went to Bill Garrison for “Sunrise at City Lake”, oil, $2,000.

$1,000 Osage Creek Award: Karolyn Farrell for “Misty Morning at Flint Creek”, oil, $1,200.

$1,000 Spring Creek Award went to Jason Sacran for “Camping on the Illinois”, oil, $2,800.

$1,000 Clear Creek Award went to L.S. Eldridge for “Hear the Tiny Echo”, transparent watercolor, $1,257

$1,000 Sager Creek Award went to Charles Harrington for “Creek Textures”, acrylic, $1,900

$1,000 Flint Creek Award went to Donna Jackson for “No Head Hollow”, oil, $1,200.

These six paintings will be on display tonight at Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas during the “Restoration of Our Rivers” conference. Click here to see the catalog of all 50 paintings in the show. A big THANK YOU to everyone who participated!