Liz Balkwill is a Norwich, UK artist in soft pastel and oil whose paintings focus on light and form in the portrait, figure, and still life. She is an elected Member of The Pastel Society of the UK, and shows her work regularly through the Society’s Mall Galleries exhibitions, the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, The Royal Institute of Oil Painters, and the Society of Women Artists. She is represented by several private galleries. Liz is also a devoted and sought-after teacher who offers classes, retreats, and demos in the UK and Mediterranean.

Natasha Isenhour is a contemporary realist painter in pastel and oil whose work explores the emotional response to the landscape, buildings, and still life, allowing the viewer to experience the core essence of a scene. A Signature Member of Pastel Society of America, Plein Air Painters of New Mexico, and American Women Artists; juried member of The Salmagundi Club; and a Distinguished Pastelist of Pastel Society of New Mexico, Natasha is known for combining plein air study with studio work to achieve her award-winning representations of light and form in the American West. She teaches at Ghost Ranch, NM during an annual month-long retreat, and this Fall will have a solo museum show at Taos Art Museum at Fechin House.

FIRST PLACE

Lazy Hazy Days by Terri Brooks

"The layering of colors—subtle lavender and white atop vibrant orange—create a mesmerizing glow. The play of these matte layered colors to convey the shimmering surface of water harmonizes beautifully with the quiet whimsy of the subject and composition. This one just kept drawing me back to it with its compelling push and pull of my attention between the use of the medium and the composition as a whole."

SECOND PLACE

Grandpa's Hay Barn by Kathryn Niles

"Pastel’s lush velvetiness adds to the quiet grandeur of these old buildings, emphasizing the softness of aged, weather-beaten wood. The lively, energetic strokes of growing grass provide a captivating foil to the soft stillness of the structures. Touch, composition, and subject combine to enchanting effect."

THIRD PLACE

With You By My Side by Betsy Payne Cook

"The richly textured surface is fascinating in its own right, and conveys so compellingly the luminous, wet atmosphere of the scene. This is a marvelous meeting of technique and subject, of application and effect."