Many of you know that I participate in the local (Kandiyohi County) fair every August. I had a total of 80 entries this year - the most ever for me and the most possible in these categories:
In Scrapbooking I had 14 entries (10 got 1st place / 4 with 2nd place).
In Professional Photography I had 24 entries (16 got 1st place / 8 with 2nd place).
In Fine Arts I had 42 entries. All received 1st place ribbons. But I believe in full disclosure - I live in a smaller rural community (population of about 45,000) so I didn’t have a lot of competition. Still, this has been a great goal and motivator for me. It has given me a reason to explore all the media that are out there, many that I knew nothing about before joining The Virtual Instructor. Now I’ll see if I can get all 42 photos entered. (This will be the first batch.) You have probably seen most of them as they were completed during the year.
I am so happy for you but not surprised. You are an exceptional artis and encouraging to anyone who desires to learn from your expertise. I really like the artwork of your sister with one of the puppies and red peppers, All of them are superb and if I had to pick just one from each batch I would not be able to since they are all moving in one way or another.
I am so glad that you shared your artwork with us. Thank you!
All of these are so very good. I can see why you would take home first place. Well deserved. You are such a great inspiration to us all in this community.
Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful exhibtion with us. I so was hoping for it, as I think it’s nice to see your art all together. Are you going to frame some of the pieces? If you had to choose, which ones are your favorites (if you want to share this with us)?
I do love the blue-feeted albatros (???). The lady’s eyes beside reminds me of Ashley in some way. The landscape from the current course is lovely, and the portrait of your dear sister with the puppy might be ine of the happier moments she had in her later life.
I love the red flowers (Mohnblumen) and the old barn like you presented it. The pinguine looks so realistic and the stormy weather on the beach does smell sea water salty to me. The scene in wich you captured your husband still blows me away!
the little baby fox is so cute with it’s blue eyes exploring the big world maybe for the first time. I am still wandering about the man (?) with the hose, what he might be working at.
I would love to explore the old village, or what is left over from it.
Thanks for all the kind words @Buddy. In answer your question all photos were matted and framed for the fair. Having them ready to hang is a requirement for entering them.
The secret is to work on it every week for the entire year. I’m very organized and have a chart of the categories and notes what I plan to draw or paint for each. I proudly mark DONE as each is finished. What you may not know is that in addition to the 42 fine art entries, I also had 24 entries for professional photography, and 14 two-page scrapbook layouts.
It also helps that I’m retired and these things are my full-time hobby.
Terri Congratulations! We all knew you’d accomplish this great feat!
You’re an excellent and organized artist and we are all loving the sharing of your art every time you put one on here! Thx so much for your advice and uplifting comments of our attempts…we are all learning daily and Matt and Ashley are positive influences in our lives and in our artwork! God love you and them too!
Therese
I have always enjoyed the challenge of the fair because I work on it all year and it is the reason that I have learned to work with a variety of media that I probably wouldn’t have tried otherwise.
Thanks for your kind words. They are much appreciated.
Terri as far as I’m concerned all your work is 1st place material! The thing I can’t understand is how you get all that beautiful work done so quickly. It would take me 3 years at least to do all that you do. LOL!
I appreciate the kind words, but let me clarify that it doesn’t get done quickly. I set overall annual goals, and then break it down into smaller goals. So last year I tried to finish two fair entries a week. By having my camera handy all the time, one fair entry was for photography. That meant I needed to do one piece of fine art a week. Much more able to do that since I’m retired. So it was planning and goal setting that made it possible.
