Juror Statement

Thank you for this opportunity to pick my favorite Aqueous 2018 Exhibition paintings and award winners. I know you have heard this before, composition and technique is a consideration. This is a given. But in the end, I simply ask myself which works would I like to hang on my own wall. That's easy. Finalizing the award winners takes more thought.

Some thoughts on paintings -- award winners or not necessarily...

• "Daddy" by J. Swartz made me laugh because the guy in the painting spoke to me. I'd like to go to lunch with this guy.
• C.Cutter's "Awestruck" shows the wonderful personality of a kid better looking than he knows.
• It's nice that M. Wilkins' "Monhegan Climate Control" shows the fun of watercolor instead of many others who attempt to show what serious painters they are.
• Good to see risk taking, as in "Mosaic Blast" by R. Montrosse.
• Thank you for a bit of mystery in G. Danz's "Vintage." Mystery is the heart of all great art.

Getting rejected from a show? I have been there. No problem, you will get your revenge in the next show.

-- Ron Thurston, AWS

Aqueous 2018 Accepted Artists

• Ronda Albright, Martinsburg, “Strong Roots”
• Brenda Beatty, St. Albans, “Dazzling Daffodils”
• Matthew Bird, Sykesville, Md., “In the Wings”
• Louise Braddock, West Union, “Caught”
• Jeanne Brenneman, Lewisburg, “Heirloom II”
• Karen Brown, Buckhannon, “Strawberry Beauty”
• JoAnn Byron, Beckley, “Emergence of Color”
• William Campbell, Midlothian, Va., “Dreamer”
• F. Dennis Clarke, Martinsburg, “Passing in the Night”
• Connie Clutter, Washington, Pa., “Awestruck”
• Joe Ann Crawford, Tornado, “Rascal”
• Katherine Crim, Clarksburg, “Eddie”
• Anne Cyr, Rehoboth, Del., “Crab Boats All in a Row”
• Ginger Danz, Fayetteville, “Vintage”
• Linda Elmer, Fairmont, “Babcock: Road to the Cabins”
• Janet Hart, Wheeling, “Gander in the Bulrushes”
• Carol Hilleary, Cross Lanes, “Old Blue Truck”
• Michael Jacques, Blawnox, Pa., “Gliding Past the Wreckage 1”
• Gina Judy, Richmond, Ohio, “The 'Sitter”
• Sidra Kaluszka, Radford, Va., “Emerging from the Darkness”
• Myung Lee-Ryou, Morgantown, “Autumn Scene”
• James Lefebvre, Eaton, Ohio, “Downtown”
• Deborah Lester, Shady Spring, “Bourbon Street”
• Brooklynn Lilly, Athens, “Rainbow Waters”
• Jane C. Michael, Morgantown, “Bird Lady of Cologne”
• Rita Montrosse, Princeton, “Mosaic Blast”
• Betty Neely, Fairmont, “Terra Incognita”
• Susan Pauley, St. Albans, “Thoughtful”
• Sandra Pealer, South Paris, Maine, "Teamwork"
• Donna Perkins, Pasadena, Md., “Raisin's Imaginations”
• Pamela Price, Monroeville, Pa., “At the Louvre”
• Julie Read, Winchester, Va., “Adobe”
• Martha Reynolds, West Union, “Family Fun”
• Christine Rhodes, Parkersburg, “October-Mountwood Park”
• Jeannine Romano, Bridgeport, “3 Sisters”
• Janet Sheehan, Wheeling, “In for a Landing”
• Jeannine Swartz, Mechanicsburg, Pa., “Daddy”
• Jan vanEgmond, Charleston, “Kanawha City Dawn”
• Monica Wilkins, Shepherdstown, “Monhegan Climate Patrol”