The Fine Arts Center of Hot Springs has announced the awards for The 8th Annual Diamond National Art Competition. The Ralph Michaelis Trust sponsored the cash awards and they are given in the memory of Hot Springs artists, Ralph (Mike) Michaelis (1917-2003). The FAC appreciates the time and expertise that the judges, Thad Flenniken, Jim Larkin, and Gary Simmons gave to this competition.
The Michaelis Best of Show, which included a $400 cash prize, was awarded to Mark Adam Webster for his oil painting, V. Nixie 1201. Mark Adam Webster’s studio is located in North Highlands, CA. where he began as a comic book drawer and inker. V. Nixie 1201 is a prime example of the fusion of futurism, cubism, and comic book illustration influences. Webster artist statement claims, “I wanted to convey the depth of motion of the human figure, landscape, or still life both active and at rest. The result became a form of sculptural abstract imagery of not only the subject itself, but rather the time and space that it occupies in a single moment, or several single moments reducing the form into less complicated shapes. After several drafts I begin developing areas to gain the effect of either greater tension or greater flow. This combined with an edge on edge effect is what gives my work a dimensional depth. The result is a juxtaposition of organic and artificial forms giving my work a sculptural presence.”
The Michaelis Merit Awards with a cash prizes of $200 were given to Carol Flori for her 
watercolor, The Veteran #2, and to Terrie Newman for her hand-stitched quilt, Stay On The Trail. The judges stated that Flori displayed great skill and confidence in the media of watercolor. The viewer is drawn into the character and narrative of the Vietnam veteran because of her details, composition, and size of the painting. Flori lives and paints in Texarkana, AR.
Hot Springs quilt maker, Terrie Newman exhibits regularly in quilt shows, but the Diamond National Art Competition is her first fine art show. Stay On The Trail, is made from 100% batik fabrics with uses appliqué, beading, embroidery, thread painting, and photo transfer with size and color manipulation. The quilt was inspired by a trip hiking in Arizona.
Honorable Mentions with $100 cash prizes went to Todd Sherlock for his abstract 
photograph, Autumn Dance, and to Colleen Wagner for her mixed water media on yupo paper, Dancing Dragon. Sherlock (Wheaton, IL) started doing his own photography after thirty years in the art gallery business. He likes to take photos of common everyday places and things that people walk by everyday and never notice. Colleen Wagner (Hot Springs Village, AR) created Dancing Dragon as an abstract image representing 2012 – Year of the Dragon.
The Fine Arts Center of Hot Springs gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:30 am to 5:00 pm and till 9:00 pm on 1st and 3rd Fridays. The 8th Annual Diamond National Art Competition exhibit is in the gallery through September 29.
The Fine Arts Center of Hot Springs is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and its support is provided in part by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the National Endowment for the Arts. More information about FAC programs can be found on the website – www.hsfac.org, Facebook, or by calling (501) 624-0489.
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