Thank you, Craig, April, and the people at Dakota Art Pastels for this opportunity to judge this prestigious exhibition. It has been an honor and a daunting task.
To the artists, let me state first of all that, while I tried very hard to be fair and objective, my choices as a juror do reflect my own biases, as all juried exhibitions reflect their respective jurors’ biases. So if you didn’t get into this show, you can get into the next.

There were many paintings that deserved as much recognition as these that I ultimately chose, but I was limited to a quota: 12 paintings in the Emerging category, 12 paintings in the Established. In selecting paintings, I looked primarily for technical proficiency. I looked for an understanding of composition, sensitive drawing skills, competent draftsmanship, which includes perspective and anatomy. I looked for an understanding of color, value and temperature. I sought an expressive application of the pastel medium.

How did I eliminate paintings, despite their exceptional quality? Was the subject one that I have seen painted a hundred times by other artists? Would I be able to differentiate this artist from that artist style-wise? I was also advised by the Dakota staff if an artist was overqualified to be in the Emerging category, or if a work was painted outside the time limited in the prospectus.
How did I select award winners? I would imagine I was walking through a gallery and choosing which works I would like to take home with me. Could I live with it for the next 10 years? I looked for something in the artist’s work that transcends technical proficiency. I looked for confidence in the work which shows the artist has found (or is finding) his or her “voice.” I looked for mood. Ultimately, I looked for profound individuality.

If you won an award, my heartfelt congratulations to you for your strong and beautiful work. If you did not win an award, that does not mean your work was not worthy of an award. I know you’ve heard it countless times before, but honestly, there are many strong pieces that would have won awards if there had been enough awards to go around. It hurts that I can’t acknowledge all the excellent pieces.
Whether you are an award winner or not, congratulations to all of you for a really beautiful exhibition. It makes me proud to be a pastelist.

-Margaret Dyer

Margaret Dyer, IAPS-MC, PSA
Dakota 1st Quarter 2025 Competition Judge