Landscapes steal the show
The Burbank Art Association’s annual fall art show offers a particularly fine selection of paintings in this seasonal contest. The show is categorized into the customary genres, but it is the landscape class that steals this show.
The Burbank Creative Arts Center Gallery opens its doors to the art alliance exhibition and the Don Jarvis and Karen Bauman Memorial Awards are presented to selected winners in two divisions: the Honors Division, which requires that entrants have participated and been award recipients in previous contests; and the Open Division, where Burbank Art Association members begin their contest experience. There are 28 awards in all.
This year’s most valued award — the Karen Bauman Memorial Award Honors Division for Best in Show — was given to Lisa August for her oil painting titled “Rocky Stream.” August’s rendering of a knee-high, arm’s-length perspective of a moss-rimmed pool, a congested artery of a larger stream, reflects boulders, sky and tentacle plant forms. The artist’s palette is cool, early morning color, with enough warmth to justify the sun-cast refection on the water. August skillfully gives dimension by including a distant mountain that serves to keep the viewer’s eye circulating through the image. It is an engaging, beautiful image.
The Don Jarvis Memorial Award Open Division Best in Show was given to Jane Mick for her oil painting titled “Diamond Lane.” The foreground image is dominated by asphalt, automobiles, concrete barriers and direction graphics as seen on a typical freeway. The artist effectively places the viewer in the driver’s seat as the horizon line meets a colorful, cloudy morning sky. Mick manages to turn a very man-made, contrived subject into a lovely organic image.
Mick contributes to the landscape category further with “Sierra Highway,” where only a sliver of desolate Sierra Highway underlines the sky. The artist cleverly parts the colorful clouds in a way that gives the impression that the clouds are moving ever so slightly, just as they do in nature. It is one of the finest pieces in the show.
Veteran artist Arlene Helm was awarded both first and second place in the Honors Division Landscape category for two beautifully executed watercolor paintings titled “Stairway to Discovery” and “The Little Pond.” Maureen La Coste-Stratton contributed to the landscape excellence with her oil painting titled “Colorado Street Bridge,” which is classical in its composition, palette and execution. It was awarded second place in Open Division, Landscape.
Burbank Creative Arts Center Gallery director Frances Santisteven helped the Burbank Art Association Show committee coordinate the exhibition and Marge Rheuban took on the difficult task of judging the art and assigning awards. There was a nice accumulation of good art created by art veterans, professional and emerging artists. The association has served its mission well, providing a venue for artists at all stages of development to study and exhibit their work.
TERRI MARTIN is an art historian and critic.
DETAILS
What: Burbank Art Association Fall Art Show
Where: Burbank Creative Arts Center Gallery, 1100 W. Clark Ave. Burbank, CA. 91506
When: November 4-15, 2011. Gallery hours: Mon.-Thurs. 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Fri. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Contact: (818) 238-5397 or email cac@ci.burbank.ca.us.