2nd Place Award

My relocation to The Villages in Florida offers a variety of new art adventures. The Villages is home to what looks like several 100 artists from painters to sculptures, wood makers, fiber and many other media. It's really unbelieveable!

The artist group Villages Art League recently sponsored an exhibition "Inspired by the Masters". As the name indicates, artists research historical paintings created by any of the great master painters of the past and then use one as an inspiration to create their own.

I selected Edward Henry Potthast, an American Impressionist who was known for his beach scenes featuring people at leisure. Several weeks ago my wife and I had visited Daytona Beach and I snapped several photos of people walking the beach and kids playing in the sand. This is the reference photo I used for my inspiration.

I created an oil painting on 18x24 canvas. The piece was awarded 2nd place from the 32 entries.