The competition is held at Messina Hof Winery & Resort in Bryan, TX as part of their Wine & Roses Festival. Submissions are narrowed down to the top ten finalists, and these pieces are displayed at the festival. Attendees of the festival then vote on the piece they feel best fits the annual theme. The winner of the vote will have the artwork featured on a wine label along and displayed at the winery for keep.

As part of the winery’s 40th anniversary commemoration this year’s theme is “Celebration”. Sitting down to create my piece began with me listening to “Celebration” by Kool and the Gang. The exciting tempo of the song can be illustrated is the busy movement of the piece. I chose yellow as the foundation of my piece, but included an array of colors to reflect the spontaneous nature of most celebrations. Overlapping different application techniques gives details up close while creating continuity from afar. I finished the piece feeling fun and exhausted much like a child after a birthday party.

And guess what??

Yesterday, I found out that I am a FINALIST!

mixed medium acrylics on 16″ x 20″ canvas panel