The streets of Saluda blossomed with art lovers and visitors during the seventh annual Saluda Arts & Music Festival held May 15.
Juried artists showed their work consisting of paintings, jewelry, pottery, photography, metal work, wood turning, and more in historic downtown Saluda.
Artwork was divided by two dimensional and three dimensional. Awards were based on skill, presentation (visual impact), intention (mood), and consistency.
Taking Best Overall with a $500 award, was Jim Carson of Saluda. Carson has been painting in both oil and acrylic for over 20 years. His work has been described by art critics as “fresh and painterly.” Carson is presently represented by Wickwire Gallery in Hendersonville, N.C., Ocmulgee Arts in Macon, Ga., The Frame Shoppe in Augusta, Ga. and Blue Valley Gallery in Cashiers, N.C.
Three hundred dollar awards were given to second place winners in 2D and 3D. Bill Gramley of Lewisville, N.C., received the award in 2D and Linda Marie Miller of Inman, S.C., won for her 3D artwork. Third place in 2D and 3D won $150 and winners were Bruce Bunch for 2D of Taylors, S.C., and George Getty of Greenville, S.C., for 3D. Honorable mention awards for $50 were given to Jeff Pittman, Laura Faye Long, Jocelyn Davis, and Mike Cowan.
Judging the art work was:
Rich Nelson, a painter and teacher from Tryon, is a nationally known portrait artist and has been featured in
Robert Dunning is a professor of art at the University of North Carolina Asheville, where he is chairman of the art department. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drawing and painting and a Masters of Fine Arts in printmaking. His art work is on display at Blue Spiral I Gallery in Asheville.
Ben Pfingsta has a Masters degree in painting and a PhD in art history. He taught art for 10 years at Norwich University in Vermont and currently teaches continuing education in art at Blue Ridge Community College and Isothermal College.
Visit www.saluda.com to see imagery from previous years festivals.American Artist Magazine.
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