Left: "Clicker Trained," ©2011 Roz Stendahl. Gouache on watercolor canvas board; 12 x 16 inches. Click on the image to view an enlargement.
I'm very happy to announce that my painting shown here was accepted into this year's Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition.
Update: I found out on August 25, when my friend Karen emailed from the Fair, that I'd received an Honorable Mention in my category.
You can visit the exhibition and see my painting in person at the Fine Arts Building on the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. The building is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day of the Fair: August 25 through September 5, 2011.
(There is a fee for attending the Fair, but entrance to the art exhibit is free.)
This is my first piece in the Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Exhibit. I entered once before, but the piece was rejected.
For people outside of Minnesota a little background might be in order.
To enter the Fair's Fine Arts exhibition you submit an entry form in June or so. You receive an entrance tag for your painting with the information from your entry form. There are a lot of categories to enter and each category has specific rules, all of which are published each year in the "premium" book (which is now online).
On a certain date (you're actually given 3 days) you bring your framed painting to the Fairgrounds and leave it for judging. About a week later you receive notification that your piece has been accepted or declined. If the latter you show up on during another 3-day period to pick up your art. If your piece is accepted you will see it in the exhibition and will pick it up after the Fair closes.
Many of the pieces on display will be for sale (mine is not for sale). This art exhibition, because of the attendance levels of the Fair, receives a lot of exposure.
So many artists working in so many different media, capturing such a variety of themes ensures that some really great art will not be selected by the jurors. Out of this has grown another Minnesota tradition—the Salon 300: Minnesota State Fair Overflow Show. This year's overflow show, at the Hopkins Arts Center, will run from August 13 – September 4, 2011—with an opening reception on Saturday, August 13, 6-8 p.m. I suggest that you also check it out.
If you would like to know a little about the judging process of this show you can read Tom Winterstein's report on the Old Town Artists' Blog. This year—"Between 16-22 percent of the works entered in each category were accepted." There were 2084 entries and 355 pieces will hang in the final show.
