Alas, summer has passed and so has our Art in Bloom contest deadline… but we’ve got the results hand-picked fresh from our ever-reliable judge, professional artist Cathy Taylor! As always, our heartfelt thanks to Cathy for working over-thyme for us. With so many wonderful pieces, we know what a difficult row this is to hoe.

Special thank yous and kudos go to our Citra Buds, the “budding artists” who overwhelmed us with the professional quality of their work. They were clearly “mowtivated” and their submissions were astonishing.

Art is clearly second nature to all of our wonderful entrants! Bouquets of thanks to all those who entered, and congratulations to our winners!

Lastly, our sincerest thank yous and gardening hats off to our wonderful judge Cathy Taylor. What a difficult task she has, judging all of those magnificent pieces of Citra Art! Thank you, Cathy!

The Judge/Juror's Statement

Once again, I am overwhelmed by the amazing creativity and sense of adventure in each piece of artwork. Every collage had something wonderful to offer. Each composition had at least one element that enticed the viewer. As in all contests, I was tasked with picking the winners. But it is important to know that if you create art, you are already a winner. As Charles Morton Cooley stated, "An artist cannot fail, it is a success to be one."

So congratulations to all of the artists who entered this contest. When viewing the artwork, I considered the over all composition, but I also looked for the sense of adventure, discovery, and artful process. In my workshops, I emphasize the importance of process over product. As adults we sometimes are too concerned about "getting something" and we forget to enjoy the process of creating. And if the process is truly embraced, the "product" is most often more successful.

Young children, when presented with paint and paper, happily create with true abandon. Their work is expressive of their very essence.

"Every child is an artist;
the problem is how to remain an artist
once he grows up" Picasso

Here are the garden-variety results:  

Citra Art Buds (artists 12 & under)

Livey Doby "Summer Fruit"
The use of lines in the foreground repeated in the orange and stems help move the eye through the collage. Nice composition.

Hannah Lankford "Eden"
In a composition the use of odd numbers vs even numbers of shapes, colors etc. (the rule of 3) make a much more interesting viewer experience. Well done.

Gabby Cook "Daisies in Bloom"
The variety of shapes and sizes in the daisies and leaves is well done in this composition.

Honorable mentions

Catelin Ellis

Emily Hamby

Amateur Division

Grand Prize: Susan Gizinski Grands, “Cow”
Lovely use of the textured citrapaper to convey structure and form.

Second Place: Lynn Davis,  “Eat Plant Rove"
Super composition, love the use of pattern repeats.

Runners-up

Lisa Mallette,  “Fantasy Flowers”
Playful, nice use of color to carry the eye through the collage.

Kitty Paino, “The Nap"
Evocative, nice use of varied repetitive shapes.

Mike Koss,  “Creature Connected”
Complex but unified composition leading the eye in a circular format.

Professional Division

Grand Prize: Phyllis Rapp, “Belly Dancer”
Wonderful sense of rhythm and movement.

Second Place: Victoria Pierce "Golden Sunflower"Elegantly and simply stated, nice repeat of circular shapes.

Runners-up

Judy Martindale "Summer"
Nice cruciform composition directing to the center of interest around the face.

Patti Wallace "A Walk in the Park"
Nice use of analogous colors creating a sense of calm...good rhythm.

Susan Faircloth "Afternoon Delight"
Mosaic structure in this piece and the placement of the leaves creates the feeling of movement and dance.

Honorable Mention & gardening hats off go to the Queen of Copious Creativity, Christy Repinic, who never seems to vegetate and produces so many entries for us! Thank you, as always, to Christy.

Christy Repinic "Lacey Weeds"

•View more of her entries under Honorable Mentions here.

Honorable Mentions

Aleta Jacobson "Summer Flowers"

Clare Godleski "Fish Frolic"

lare Godleski "Violet and Susie, a Pair"

Kathleen Loveland "Burning Passion"

Kathleen Loveland "Lightning-Bug"

Kathleen Loveland "butterfly-delight-vignette"

Kathleen Loveland "howling-summer-heat"

Kayann Ausherman "BLOOM"

Kayann Ausherman "Woman in Bloom"

Linda Illumanardi "Tropical Splendor"

Lisa Agaran "Fanning the Flames"

Lisa Agaran "The Muse Rising"

Patti Wallace "All the Colors of the Sun"

Susan Faircloth "Spring Bouquet"

Amatuer Honorable Mentions

Ellen Zimet "In the Summer"

Gina Stanley "oracle of the moon ink drawing"

Gina Stanley "Under the Sea"

Gina Stanley "Hummingbird" citra transfer

Judy Ludovise "Beach Bloomin"

Linda Richmond "A Private Resolve"

Linda Richmond "Bloomin' Summer Fires"

Linda Richmond "Lovely Summer Day"

Marge Naperski "JELLY FLOWER"

Marge Naperski "SPIRITU"

Marsha Carlton "a leggy plant"

Marsha Carlton "birdie redux"

Marsha Carlton "Citra Fleur"

Marsha Carlton "White Flower Birds"

Mike Koss "A Vision of a Secret Forest Spot"

Mike Koss "Blues In the Key of C"

Mike Koss "Escaping Electron Brain Waves"

Mike Koss "Taken By Storm"

Nancy Behan "Sea Glass"

Pam Patterson "citra summer landscape"

Pam Patterson "citra summer flowers"

Susan Gizinski

Susan Gizinski "Rooster"

Susan Gizinski

Susan Gizinski

A bugs lovely life

Abstract Art with flowers

Batik Poppies

Butterly Love

Castle collage

Castle with Childhood Fantasies

Celebrating Fall

Clover Love

Cute Bee

Flakey Fleur

Flower Pop Grid

Flower Slices

Hiding Hibiscus Squared

I must have flowers

Just Peachy

Literati Fleur

love card

love's dying embers

Parisian Holiday 425

Tie-dyed Butterflies

Spread the Word!