Laura Watmough has been wearing a very proud grin on her face lately.
Late last month the owner and art instructor of Hidden Talent Fine Art School, along with several of her students, entered the painting contest put on at the annual orchid show in Edmonton. For the first time ever, a Hidden Talent student brought home the grand prize.
Yoon-Joo Kim's painting is still on display in the school's studio space, its place of honour held among the other first and second place finishers.
"We're really pleased," Watmough said, adding that Kim was "absolutely thrilled" as well.
Apart from the big blue ribbon, Kim was also presented with the prestigious Vivian Thierfelder trophy for her win.
Kim actually had two first place finishes. The judges have strict standards for quality and choose only one grand prize winner from several first place paintings, Watmough said.
Hidden Talent's Bernadette Neuman also had two first place finishes, despite the fact that it was her first show. Candy Schultz had one first and one second-place finish. The judges had Schultz right in behind Kim for the grand prize, Watmough said.
Joan Rover achieved a second place ribbon for her work, which, according to Watmough, was only the second painting she had ever produced.
The teacher was very proud of her students.
"To see this much variety and to have them acknowledged is wonderful," she said.
Self-promotion courtesy of social media
Visual artists often struggle with finding new ways to reach members of the public who might be interested in art. One local painter is trying to bridge that gap by taking to social media with a contest to encourage new viewers.
Memory Roth is trying to get 350 people to like her Facebook page at Memory Roth Artist – Painting Memories. Once she has accomplished that, she is going to hold a random draw to give away a limited edition giclée reproduction of her award-winning painting Boats at Portsoy.
She said this is a relatively easy way to accomplish something that she finds otherwise very tough and tiresome – self-promotion.
"The reason I wanted to start the contest was to get more fans for my art page, which in turn would help me promote my blog," she explained, adding that it's important for her to connect with her audience and her viewers.
"The blog has more information about my art and the history behind my paintings. The Facebook page is more immediate and a way for me to communicate with the fans about what is going on, and it helps to get their responses quickly," she said.
She tested out the value of social media recently by posting a photo of a new painting that she wasn't sure about. Roth said that if she didn't get any response then she would rethink the work.
"I was totally surprised by the number of responses and how positive they were," she said. "As it turned out I posted the painting on my blog and it is one of the most downloaded paintings I have ever had."
