SOMERS — More than 85 artists and guests gathered at Piedmont Hall in Somers on Sept. 15 at a reception and awards program to kick off the Regional Juried Piedmont Art Show.
“We had 101 entries this year from Connecticut and Massachusetts from which our juror chose the winners, and selected 91 of them to hang in Piedmont Hall,” said Neil Connell, show chair.
This year’s juror was Barbara Lussier who holds a bachelors of fine arts degree with high honors from the University of Hartford. She also studied at Ringling School of Art, Hartford College for Women, and Lyme Academy. Her work has been exhibited throughout New England and internationally and she has served on various juries in New England.
Organized by the Somers Cultural Commission in 1993, the event was started as a way for them to introduce to the public their newly-formed commission and to introduce a new art show for a community in which very few existed. What started small now consistently has around 100 entries each year and has expanded from one to several weekends.
Art Scholz of Tolland took home the show’s biggest honor — the $1,000 Juror’s Choice Award.
“I was very pleased to take home the award. At my age, 94, it is nice to still be recognized, It makes you feel good … that you still have it,” he said.
His watercolor entry depicts an aqua barn with winter snow on the ground. An ice house — which dairy farmers once used to store fresh milk from their cows before refrigeration — is attached to the barn.
“My career as an illustrator for the past 60 years or more began after attending art school in Manhattan, and later on, for about 30 to 40 years, I also began to paint watercolors,” Schulz said, who has also served as a past juror of the show.
Lynn Wrona of Holland, received the $500 Linda Percoski Memorial Award in honor of the show’s late founder.
“I was thrilled to win. Linda was a brilliant artist and also a dear friend. It was quite an emotional moment for me,” Wrona said.
Her winning entry, an oil painting, depicted an antique truck covered in snow on a roadside in Brimfield, to a backdrop of a junk yard she called “a car resting place.”
“I live about two miles away from the truck and often pass it in my travels. It was winter and all the vegetation was gone, and there it sat by its lonely old self. I pulled aside off the road to paint it,” Wrona said.
“I have a piece of apparatus that hooks over the car’s steering wheel which provides and easel and tray to hold my paint, and I often pull over when I find something that is paintable,” she added.
Wrona, a bookkeeper by trade, was encouraged to paint by her husband.
“He noticed I was always doodling and surprised me with an art class back in 1975. At first, I couldn’t paint every day like I do now putting raising a family first,” she said.
In addition, five Piedmont Awards of $100 each were presented to:
Judith Baylis of Southwick, an abstract watercolor called “Memories.”
Barbara Groff of Vernon, a pastel called “Royal-tea” with tea cups and lemons.
Karen Israel of West Hartford, a pastel called “Fast Friends” of a person walking a group of dogs.
InSun Russelll of Russell, large watercolor with a profusion of beautiful flowers of all colors.
Shauna Shane of Storrs, a large watercolor painting depicting a building reflecting off the water believed to be a marina with boats surrounding it.
Also, five Merit Awards of $50 each were awarded to:
Ann Bagge, a moody oil painting entitled “Late Discussions” of a coffee pot and more on a table.
Marie Flahive of Westfield, a watercolor called “Summer’s Bounty” of fruits and vegetables.
Paul Leveille of Holyoke, an oil of a man standing in the ocean with a metal detector that was done using a painting knife, not brushwork.
Anna Franklin, formerly of Brimfield and now living in North Carolina, a woodland winter scene.
Donna Villamaino of Wilbraham, a watercolor of a basket of flowers.
It is free to view the show.
Show hours are Sept. 19-21, noon to 4 p.m.; Sept. 22-23, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Sept. 26-27, noon to 4 pm., and Sept. 28-29, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“After we take down the show, the Cultural Commission will hold an open mic night at Piedmont Hall on the second Saturday of each month beginning Oct. 12 from 1-3 p.m.,” Connell said.
