Busy Art day…

Me with Rudiger Ranch before the opening…

Today was a fun art day.  I was up early [lousy bed, another story] putting the final touches on the framing for my paintings.  I had a circuit of errands to run before dropping my painting off for the hanging committee at 2:30. 

We had to be back to the special evening wine and cheese for artists & sponsors by 6pm.  After mixing and visiting while we went through the show, we got to the exciting part.  Scholarships were presented to students from the U of A and U of C.  Ron and I spoke with the young lady that won from the U of A and her parents…  they were VERY excited and it’s nice to think that our group can provide these special $1,000 scholarships to these young people for their education.

Most FCA shows have prizes for the bride [1st] and bridesmaids [2nd & 3rd] and “flower girls” [honorable mentions] and are selected by the jury at our Canadian office in Vancouver.  Generally they are hung with the paintings and artists find out they’ve won a prize when they see the ribbon or somebody congratulates them.  Since this was the 30th Anniversary of the Calgary Chapter, prizes were presented during the program.  I was fortunate to receive an honorable mention [yay for flower girls!] for my painting “Rudiger Ranch” and gift certificates from both Art Supplies Direct and Atlantis Fine Framing Studio [thank you!].  Prizes are NOT why I paint but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that this type of recognition is pretty exciting for me!  It’s nice to know that jurors see something of value in my work.  It’s all part of the package…  and it’s fun.  Okay, enough tooting my own horn.  Have a great weekend!