Fine artists and amateur and professional photographers from across the state were invited to participate in the 2019 Judged Fine Art and Judged Photography Competitions & Exhibitions, organized annually by the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department and presented May 1-5 as a component of the 2019 North Charleston Arts Fest. A total of 309 fine art entries were accepted in the categories of oil, acrylic, watercolor, drawing, printmaking, pastel, and 2D mixed media. Cash awards totaling $6,350 were made at the sole discretion of the judge, Hannah Shepard. Shepard is a visual artist and has been the Executive Director of the 701 Center for Contemporary Art in Columbia, SC, since 2017. She received her Master of Fine Arts degree in Painting from Savannah College of Art & Design in 2017. Awarded magna cum laude from College of Charleston, her undergraduate degree was a double major in Arts Administration and Studio Art with a minor in Art History. She has exhibited her work throughout Charleston and Atlanta, while also working as an assistant gallery director and interning for museums and non-profit spaces.
A total of 212 entries were accepted in photography, which were split into the divisions of Professional/Advanced and Amateur and categorized as color or monochrome. Cash awards totaling $1,450 were made at the sole discretion of the judge, photographer Jeffrey Rich. Rich’s work focuses on water issues ranging from recreation and sustainability to exploitation and abuse. He explores these subjects by using long-term photographic documentations of very specific regions of the United States. Jeff received his MFA in photography at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA. His project Watershed: A Survey of The French Broad River was awarded the 2010 Critical Mass Book Award and was published as a monograph in 2012. His work has been exhibited across the US and internationally and is held in several public and private collections. In 2017, Watershed: The Tennessee River was published with Fall Line Press. Jeff also curates the weekly series Eyes on the South for Oxford American Magazine.
In addition to awards given by the judges, four pieces were selected for City of North Charleston Purchase Awards. These selections will be added to the City of North Charleston’s Permanent Public Art Collection, which is on display within North Charleston City Hall throughout most of the year.
Congratulations to the winners:
– Fine Art: Sean Patrick, Revelation, mixed media (Goose Creek)
Outstanding Merit – Fine Art: Trish Emery, Le Cormatin Red Dahlia, pastel (Moncks Corner)
Best Oil: Brad Carroll, Uptown Social (Mt. Pleasant)
Best Acrylic: Susanne Frenzel, At the End of the Day (Mt. Pleasant)
Best Drawing: Bob Graham, Archie (Mt. Pleasant)
Best Pastel: Catherine Townsend, Dawn in the Swamp (Summerville)
Best Watercolor: Bob Graham, Pals (Mt. Pleasant)
Best 2D Mixed Media: Cheryl Baskins Butler, Rent in the Veil (Moncks Corner)
Best Printmaking: Jamie Mular, Portrait of a Man (Charleston)
Best Portrait: Cynthia Huston, Taylor II, oil (Mt. Pleasant)
Best Landscape: John Meckley, Lowcountry March, oil (Summerville)
Best Still Life: Susan Everitt, Some Gave All, drawing (Daniel Island)
Best Animal: Rick Austin, Got My Eye on You, oil (Folly Beach)
Best Abstract: Jan Kelley, Catch-22, mixed media (North Charleston)
Mayor’s Choice: Vanessa Grebe, Storytime, oil (Mt. Pleasant)
Honorable Mentions
Suzanne Wolfe, Charleston Tea Dance Ladies, watercolor (Mt. Pleasant)
Linda Wasiclewski, Distant Horizons, mixed media (Isle of Palms)
Susan Irish Ellis, Ice Cream, acrylic (West Ashley)
Tessa Pfeifer, Untitled, acrylic (Charleston)
Shelia Thompson, Best Mom Under the Sun, oil (Charleston)
Matt Cook, Looking for His Master, printmaking (Florence )
Kris Manning, North Charleston Skyline, drawing (Mount Pleasant)
Sarah Michelle Harris, Weathered Elegance, oil (Hanahan)
Gary Smith, Hummingbird Fractal, acrylic (Goose Creek)
Becky Taylor, Faces of the Past, watercolor (Charleston)
City of North Charleston Purchase Awards
Brad Carroll, Uptown Social, oil (Mt. Pleasant)
Kris Manning, North Charleston Skyline, drawing (Mount Pleasant)
Matt Cook, Looking for Master, printmaking (Florence)
Tracy Gansraw, The Dreamer, acrylic (Granite Falls)
Professional Photography – Color
1st place: Raymond Colin Murray, Sunrise On Capt. James and the Steel Mill (Charleston, SC)
2nd place: Justin Falk, Lightning on Folly (Charleston, SC)
3rd place: Larry Gayle, The Red Bridge (Mount Pleasant, SC)
Honorable Mentions
Sean Hartman, Washed Out II (Summerville)
Raymond Colin Murray, Precious and Vulnerable (Charleston)
Richard Amble, Coal Plant (Summerville)
Angie Bridges, The Samba (Summerville)
Leah Sparks, I’m Available (Charleston)
Professional Photography – Monochrome
1st place: Sean Hartman, Reaching (Summerville)
2nd place: Gloria Welch, View of a View (Charleston)
3rd place: Christine Jones, Still Motion (Goose Creek)
Honorable Mentions
Nicole Robinson, Reflecting (Charleston)
Raymond Colin Murray, Dauntless (Charleston)
Marcie Daniels, Nature’s Prayer (Summerville)
Amateur Photography – Color
1st place: Jessica Ballard, Lowcountry Marsh (North Charleston)
2nd place: Guenter Weber, Dancing Great Egrets (Summerville)
3rd place: Michael Summer, Untitled (Delzel)
Honorable Mentions
Amber Dillo, Blacksmith’s Fire #1 (Charleston)
Jess Greaux, Delicious Fruit (North Charleston)
Roger Buengon, Untitled (Chapin)
Jess Greaux, Life on Hold (North Charleston)
Amateur Photography – Monochrome
1st place: David Dial, Dock of the Lake (Columbia)
2nd place: Heike Helbig, Narcissa (Summerville)
3rd place: Atri Amin, Long Tree at the Point (Mount Pleasant)
For information about additional exhibition opportunities offered by the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department, call 843-740-5854, email [email protected], or the Arts & Culture section of the City’s website. For details on the North Charleston Arts Fest, visit NorthCharlestonArtsFest.com.