Return

Juried Art Show

Artists from around the region are featured in the Bedford County Arts Council's 23rd Annual Juried Fine Arts Show at the Bedford County Arts Center in Bedford showing now until Oct. 26.     In the multi-media show that attracted exhibits from across the region, an oil painting from Steve Gilbert of Altoona won Best of Show.     Bedford County native Will Snyder, a State College resident, won first place in two-dimensional with his charcoal drawing, and a clay pineapple from Barbara Loshaw of Bedford won first place in three-dimensional.     An enhanced train photograph from Everett photographer David Gould won best in the photography.     Gilbert's painting is titled "Sartre and St. Francis" The painting shows both the French philosopher/author Jean-Paul Sartre and St. Francis sitting under the same tree. The painting was inspired by Sartre's novel "Nausea," which Gilbert read more than 30 years ago. Sartre's novel had the oft-quoted line, "I exist, I think, therefore I am."     "The title is really evocative," he said of his painting. The painting represents the juxtaposition of the two differing philosophies of the two men ‹ one an existential atheist, the other a man of God and a much-loved Catholic church figure - and how their reactions to the world around them is so different even though they are under the same tree, Gilbert said.     Gilbert, who has a studio in Altoona, had formal training in art, including instruction from New York Studio School. Abstraction is something he embraces.     "Ideas are as much a part of reality as the physical things around us," Gilbert said.     Snyder's charcoal drawing of a friend is one of a work called a triptych, a three-panel work, usually a panel painting. "This is different from some of the portraits I was doing," said Snyder, a 1998 graduate of Bedford High School.     Gould's photo is a digitally enhanced photograph that started with a daytime photo of an engine in Cumberland, Md. Gould said he used real film ‹ not a digital image ‹ and a large-format camera for the photo.     "I shoot all film, I don't use a digital format," he said. After the photo was scanned, computer programs allowed him to come up with a gleaming engine at night. He's been working with digitally enhanced photographs for 15 years, well before there was such a thing as a personal computer.     Although the process sounds complicated with all its layers in Adobe Photoshop and different tools, "it really doesn't take that long," Gould said. "But, it took me years to learn how to do it."     Loshaw said she has been potting for more than 20 years, having caught the bug after attending potting classes in Johnstown. "The first night I was driving home from class, I thought, this is it. This is what I want," she said. While finding the right mix of glazes has come through trial and error, she now has her own recipes.     She has pieces in a gallery at Cabin Fever, has done work for Heartland Hall. She will have a booth during Fall Foliage Festival.     Although her pet grooming shop, the Grooming Gallery, is her occupation, potting is her passion. she has kilns at her home and at the shop.     "It's a hobby. It's my love," she said.     In other results, Phil Brulia of Ebensburg took second in two-dimensional with a work called "All the Blue Changes."     Bonnie Frijters of Huntingdon took second in photography with "Summer Pond."     Honorable mentions in various categories went to Ray Rafferty of Johnstown, Judith Foor, Roger Young of Six Mile Run, Eric Feather of Imler, Jean Barnes Downs of Cumberland, Md., and Mark Parish of Patton.     The entries were judged this year by Loa Joan Stern who has exhibited regionally and abroad and has juried shows throughout the mid-Atlantic region, the arts council said in a press release.

Steve Gilbert of Altoona won Best of Show in the Bedford County Arts Council's juried fine arts show with an oil painting titled "Sartre and St. Francis," pictured above, on left. Sartre was a novelist, philosopher and an atheist and St. Francis was perhaps one of the best loved Catholic saints. A charcoal drawing of a friend won first place among two-dimensional works. The artist, Will Snyder of State College, is a native of Bedford and is known for his portrait work. Titled,  "Michael," the work is part of a triptych, a three-piece exhibit usually presented in panels. A pineapple by Barbara Loshaw of Bedford won first place three-dimensional award. This enhanced train photograph from Everett photographer David Gould won best in the photography.