THE EXHIBIT RUNS October 27–November 25, 2023 During the artists’ reception on Friday, Nov. 3, guest judges Glenn and Tim Boles presented the awards for a brand-new art exhibition.
THE EXHIBIT RUNS September 8-October 19, 2023 During the artists’ reception on Friday, Sept. 15, Carolyn Lee McKee-Freese, art educator, and the show’s guest judge, presented the awards for this year’s Farms & Barns art exhibition.
THE EXHIBIT RUNS July 21 – September 2, 2023 During the artists’ reception on Friday, July 28, Chloe Metz, Oregon artist and the show’s guest judge, presented the awards for this year’s Absolutely Abstract art exhibition. After the award presentation, TNPS’ new executive director, Letha Catalina, was introduced. Catalina starts her position on August 8.
This show’s sponsors are Ellen and Carl Mumford.
The Absolutely Abstract award recipients
Best of Show | “The Summer of 2020,” Acrylic | Perry Paliga of Dixon, IL
First Place | “Kaleidoscope,” Acrylic Mixed Media| Jayne Rose of Dixon, IL
Second Place | “Every Day is Undone #9,” Photographer | John Wildman of Dixon, IL
Third Place | “Woman with Child,” Cold Wax Medium and Oil | Kent Broadbent of Annawan, IL
Honorable Mention| “Urban Renewal,” Collage and Acrylic | Debbie Thompson of Dixon, IL
THE EXHIBIT RUNS JUNE 2-JULY 15, 2023 During the artists’ reception on Friday, June 9, Amy Sikyta, TNPS executive director, presented the awards for this year’s The Human Form art exhibition. Debra Cleary, artist and art educator, served as the guest judge for this exhibition.
Meet the juror and demonstrator for this year’s IWS show
Beth Shadur of Highland Park, Illinois, is the 39th Illinois Watercolor Society National Show juror and demonstrator. The show runs April 28-May 28, 2023, at The Next Picture Show (TNPS) in Dixon, Illinois. Shadur is set to demonstrate her watercolor technique during the show’s opening reception on May 6, 1-4 p.m.
Shadur is an artist who has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions in the United States and abroad, including at the Art Institute of Chicago; the Drawing Center in New York City; the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, NY; the Butler Institute of Art in Youngstown, Ohio; and at the Colorado Springs Art Museum, Colorado Springs, CO.
Shadur has created over 150 large public murals as public, private and community art projects in both the United States and Great Britain. She was an Artist-in-Education for the Illinois Arts Council in Chicago, IL. She has taught and served as a visiting artist at many colleges and universities, including Northwestern University, Evanston, IL; Northeast Missouri State University, Kirksville, MO; and as a visiting artist and scholar at Paradise Valley Community College in Scottsdale, AZ.
Shadur’s work appears in many publications, books, and catalogs, including Twentieth Century Watercolors, Abbeville Press; The Special Unit, Barlinnie Prison, Its Evolution Through Art, Third Eye Centre, Glasgow, Scotland; Community Murals: The People’s Art, Associated University Press, NJ; and Art and Cartography, Art Institute of Chicago. Her mural work in Barlinnie Prison, Glasgow, Scotland is included in the archives of the Peoples Palace Museum in Glasgow.
“Sky Drama,” Watercolor on Yupo, 11″ x 13″ | Beth Shadur
An educator
Shadur has lectured widely on community arts in both the United States and abroad. She has curated numerous national exhibitions, including the ongoing ‘The Poetic Dialogue Project,’ which has traveled throughout the United States. Collaborative Vision: The Poetic Dialogue Project, featuring collaborative works by pairs of poets and artists, was exhibited at the Chicago Cultural Center in January-April 2009, and will travel to various university galleries.
In 2006, Shadur presented at the International Conference on Arts in Society in Edinburgh, Scotland, and her Poetic Dialogue Project was published in the International Journal on Arts In Society. Shadur has been awarded numerous Ragdale Fellowships and is a Thomas Watson Fellow from Brown University; from 2004-6, she served as Executive Director of ARC Gallery, Chicago. She participated in the Cool Globes Public Art Project in Chicago in 2007, and in 2008, was Artist-in-Residence at the Burren College of Art in Ireland through a Governor’s Award for International Arts Exchange from the Illinois Arts Council.
In 2009, she participated in ArtPrize, Grand Rapids, MI. In 2013, Shadur was a fellow at the Leighton Artist Colony at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Banff, Alberta, Canada. In 2016, she was awarded a residency at the Harfnarborg Art Center in Harfnarjardur, Iceland. She is currently working on her National Park Project, partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, creating works that are traveling throughout the state of Illinois.
Since 2012, Shadur serves as the Gallery Director at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, IL. In 2016, she was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Illinois State Museum. In 2022, she was appointed to the Board of the National Watercolor Honor Society. Her work is owned in many private and public collections.
For three years in a row, the in-person awards presentations had to be canceled. The first two years, it was COVID. This year, Mother Nature decided to send miserable, stormy spring weather.
Never fear. The judging went on anyway. Mary Jo Schuneman, a long-time local art educator, was this year’s judge. Just below is a listing of our award recipients. Congratulations to all of our talented local artists.
People’s Choice
The only award not shown at the time of this writing is the 2023 People’s Choice winner. Visitors are encouraged to visit The Next Picture before April 14 to cast a ballot for their favorite piece. The show remains on the gallery’s walls until April 22. Come in and vote!
UPDATE: People’s Choice is the same as our Best of Show, Matt Jagitsch.
Best of Show AND People’s Choice | “Don’t Breathe” by Matt Jagitsch
…and the winners are
Myrtle Walgreen Best of Show Award “Don’t Breathe” by Matt Jagitsch
Phidian Past President’s Award “T. To J.P.” by Kitto
Roger Brown and Iva L. Gamel Memorial Award for Best American Scene “Let’s Dry the Corn” by Julie Young
Robert Crowson Memorial Award “Tramp Olay” by Elizabeth Jahn
Lesage Memorial Award for Realistic Style “White Hollyhocks” by Karen Tucker
Ann Roe Memorial Award for Best Pencil or Pen & Ink “Scarred Orange and Blue Bottle” by Elizabeth Coss
Jane Marshall Award “Storyville” by Dan Bowman
Beverly Weber Memorial Award “Old Truck” by Jerry Scheffler
Roxy Hey Memorial Award for Best Floral “White Dahlia #2” by Karen Tucker
Ruth Wood Davis Memorial Award Watercolor “Yellow Hi-Flyer” by Craig Carpenter
Lucile Warner Award “Great Uncle Paul” by Jerry Scheffler
Myra Nichols Memorial Award “Slide” by Elizabeth Jahn
Marie L. Helin Memorial Creativity Award “Shay’s Cat, Pan” by Amy Bailey
Mary Helen “Mame” Cooper Award “Two on Two After School at Hefty’s” by Craig Carpenter
The Telegraph Award “UNITY Carpeted in Colors of Pink and Gray” by Shirley Guay
KSB Hospital Award “Lavender Abstract” by Jayne Rose
Caryl Crawford Fleming Memorial Award for Best Nature Subject “Whisper” by Dale Tulk
Ronald Reagan Presidential Award for Best Regional Scene “Iowa Sunset” by Perry Paliga
Mary Ann Ferolo Award “What a Wonderful World” by Betty Predmore
The Next Picture Show Award “No Show” by James Hey
HONORABLE MENTIONS
“T. To J.P.” by Kitto
“Our Hero: Uncle Ray” by A. Elizabeth Anderson-Hall
THE EXHIBIT RUNS FEBRUARY 24-MARCH 25, 2023 On Friday, Mar. 3, Amy Sikyta, TNPS executive director, presented the awards for this year’s Shades of Gray art exhibition during the artists’ reception. Jeff Paul Thompson, a professional sculptor, served as the guest judge for this exhibition.
THE EXHIBIT RUNS JANUARY 13 – FEBRUARY 18, 2023 On Friday, Jan. 20, Philip Atilano, TNPS executive director, presented the awards for this year’s 18th Regional Survey of Art exhibition during the artists’ reception. Heather Shore, a professional artist, and art educator, served as the guest judge for this exhibition.
THE EXHIBIT RUNS SEPTEMBER 10 – OCTOBER 22, 2022 On Friday, September 16, Philip Atilano, TNPS executive director, presented the awards for this year’s Farms and Barns Exhibition during the artists’ reception. Jayne Rose, VP of Marketing of the Blackhawk Waterways CVB, a TNPS board of directors member, and a professional artist, served as the guest judge for this exhibition.
Farms & Barns award recipients
Best in Show | “The Siefred Farm” by Robert Krajecki of Elgin, IL. | Watercolor
First Place | “Country Winter” by Kat Heitzman of Freeport, IL | Oil
Second Place | “3 Mile Road Series, Dusk” by Laura Reddy of Chadwick, IL | Oil
Third Place | “Looking Through” by Letha Catalina of Dixon, IL | Photography
Honorable Mention| “John Deeres” by Timothy Vail of NY, NY | Pen & Ink
Honorable Mention| “The Barn that Angels Built” by Janet Haugen Cederland of Union, IL | Watercolor
Honorable Mention| “Evening Light & Shadows” by Robert Holmes of Millington, IL | Watercolor
