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CONGRATULATIONS SECOND QUARTER 2025 WINNERS!

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ENTERED.

Judging Statement and Award Comments
Michael Freeman, IAPS-EP, MPANZ, MPSA, PSA

Firstly, I would like to thank Craig, April and the whole Dakota Pastels team for making the process of judging the Second Quarter of the Dakota 2025 Pastel Competition a rewarding and enjoyable experience. I have long admired the Dakota Competition for the quality of work consistently submitted, and that it allows an opportunity for both experienced and emerging artists to have their work recognised. It was truly an honor to be asked to be one of this year’s quarterly judges.

One of the things that I love most about having an opportunity to judge a competition, is that it always reinforces the things that I love most about this wonderful medium of pastel. A medium that has been successfully taken up by artists of all genres, and through which individual artists are constantly finding new ways of expressing their unique individuality. Utilising pastel in all of its various forms, brands, colors, tools and supports and across a wide range of subjects. It shows that pastel can stand equally on its own up against all other mediums. This Second Quarters entries certainly didn’t disappoint.

My philosophy in judging any competition is to always be fair and consistent in ensuring that the final selections are a celebration of the broad diversity of genres, subjects and talented pastel artists to the best of my ability. I believe to be given an opportunity to judge fellow pastel artists is a privilege and an honor, requiring the time for careful thought and consideration. I thank everyone at Dakota for providing the tools and a framework to review and compare all the entries over many days and several different stages to make the final award selections. I reviewed each entry individually many times (both as a thumbnail and in detail/enlarged) over several days initially without making any selection decisions. Only once I was happy that I had a broad awareness of each of the entries, did I then do a final pass where I put entries into three groups – ins, outs, and maybes, for each of the categories.

I reviewed all of the maybes again deciding whether they were in or out and then a final check of each group, modifying as necessary. The next stage was identifying in each category (Emerging and Established) those paintings I felt merited consideration for an award. The final process was going through the paintings and making the final decisions regarding 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 8x honorable mentions being mindful that those selected were truly a celebration of the broad diversity of genres and subjects, and to do my best to be fair and as unbiased as possible.

There were amazing pieces that weren’t selected and even the order of paintings selected for awards was fluid right up until I made my final decisions. Don’t see not receiving an award as in anyway being a negative reflection on your work, as you will see for yourself, there certainly were many worthy candidates.

Congratulations to everyone brave enough to enter. Special congratulations to those selected for recognition – well done! For those that weren’t fortunate to be selected this time – I would encourage you to keep entering. I always say especially to emerging artists, that the more success an artist experiences the more you can be sure that they will have experienced more non selections and disappointments along the way. Competitions are wonderful for building character, determination, and resilience. Embrace and enjoy your art journey and remember to always have fun and thank you for trusting me with your entries.

Michael Freeman, IAPS-EP, MPANZ, MPSA, PSA
Dakota 2nd Quarter 2025 Competition Judge
 

ESTABLISHED ARTIST WINNERS
 
FIRST PLACE
Arianna Squicquaro
Aeternitas		 SECOND PLACE
Darcie Roberts
Take My Breath Away		 THIRD PLACE
Susan Lyon
Piggy Back		 FOURTH PLACE
Yael Maimon
Dusk Hunter
 Honorable Mention
Alex Eisenzopf
Coca Cola Rail		 Honorable Mention
Fabio Cuffari
St Catherine of Alexandria
           
Honorable Mention
Albert Handell
Morning Light		 Honorable Mention
Susan Kuznitsky
The Moon and the Stars		 Honorable Mention
Julia Lesnichy
Winter Sunset in Virginia		 Honorable Mention
Angela Parr
The Reds		 Honorable Mention
Jeanne Rosier Smith
Extra Frothy		 Honorable Mention
Cindy McBride
Look of Lavender
           
 

ESTABLISHED WINNERS

1st PLACE
'Aeternitas'
Right from my initial reviews of all the entries, this painting caught my eye and throughout the whole process seemed to demand that I look closer. Beyond the obvious skill of the artist, all aspects of this painting had me asking questions and wanting to know more. From the painting itself, it’s title “Aeternitas”, and the explanation provided by the artist – all added layers of information that supported my decision to select this piece as being worthy of receiving 1st Place in the Established Category.

I loved the composition, the colors, the juxtaposition of the two heads and the feelings and story I felt that this artist was expressing. Interestingly my own thoughts were only reinforced and made them stronger when I read the artists comments on their piece:
"AETERNITAS" expresses the concept of introspection and awareness of the body depicted by this beautiful woman who confronts her eternal beauty expressed by the imaginary representation of the ancient Greek statue, the projection of immortality, an awareness of a transcendental beauty sculpted in time.

2nd PLACE
'Take My Breath Away'
What a delightful little painting, that captures the viewers interest and beautifully transports you into the landscape. You can immediately appreciate what the artist wanted to communicate, from the light, the colours and wonderful textures that are competently expressed in each individual mark. This painting is one that caught my eye and then invited me to look closer to enjoy the details, textures and depth of this landscape.

3rd PLACE
'Piggy Back'
I was immediately impressed by the skill and sensitivity of this artist. This is a portrait that encourages you to ask questions and want to know more about the subjects depicted. Where is the big sister taking her younger sibling? Are they travelling far and what are the conditions like? The umbrella would suggest that there is a chance of rain and their clothing places them in a foreign land, even before the artists comment indicated that they are in Tibet. A strong and powerful painting.

4th PLACE
'Dusk Hunter'
The artist’s work is easily recognised, the cats always portrayed with bold color and interesting compositions, and all unique. The skill and talent are in every mark and decision which have resulted in a small painting that grabs your attention. From the bold use of the oranges and reds and subtle greens and blues to the intensely bright yellow eyes that capture the character and nature of this cat, which are only enhanced by the title. It’s a great painting.


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EMERGING ARTIST WINNERS

 
           
FIRST PLACE
Kim Fortin
Venus		 SECOND PLACE
Steve Falen
Woods Above Seal Rock		 THIRD PLACE
Martha Morozovitch
Whispers of Grace		 FOURTH PLACE
Kevin Carroll
I Can't See His Face Anymore...		 Honorable Mention
Carole Belliveau
Garden Walk		 Honorable Mention
David Cucinotta
Beach Meeting
           
Honorable Mention
Melinda Howard
Portrait of Ava		 Honorable Mention
Maryam Fardinfard
Strength in the Light		 Honorable Mention
Carol Motsinger
Girl at the Market		 Honorable Mention
Rosemary Segreti
Dusty Color 		Honorable Mention
David Romm
The Unsanctioned Pheasant Hunt		 Honorable Mention
Maris Talu
Coral Bells
 

EMERGING WINNERS

1st PLACE
'Venus'
This painting stood out from my initial viewing and only got better the more that I looked at it. From the skill of capturing the initial image and recognising that this moment was special and worthy of being the subject for a painting, right through to every decision that resulted in this final piece. The cropping of the final composition, through to capturing all the details, textures, light, subtle colors (look at the blues in the black coat), lost and found edges, and feeling required to so confidently and skilfully capture this amazing dog.

2nd PLACE
'Woods Above Seal Rock'
This piece embodies everything that is wonderful about the impressionist genre. Loose spontaneous mark making and yet everyone critical to the end result. The skill of this artist is immediately obvious in how they have handled this subject, from their use of color, to the complexity, depth and detail that they have managed to capture in the final painting.

3rd PLACE
'Whispers of Grace'
This realistic painting beautifully captures the softness of this delicate flower. The handling of the whisper of light and the lost and found edges makes this image come alive, with the out of focus background creating a sense of place within the garden.

4th PLACE
'I Can't See His Face Anymore/He's in a Better Place'
I found this painting very confronting and yet it was this quality that in the end I felt needed to be commended. All the paintings submitted by this artist dealt with extremely tough issues and really asked the viewer to explore subjects that might easily be passed over.
The artists submitted comment explained their first-hand experiences which motivated the creation of this painting, and of subjects that aren’t discussed enough in our society. I am pleased that I could recognise this artists bravery in tackling tough subjects and hope that this award helps them to continue to use their art as a voice to express messages that are important to our society.

DAKOTA STAFF PICK

Dakota has the unique privilege of supporting artists in their artistic journey every day. The Staff Pick is an Emerging artist who has made strong choices in design, color, and composition, and is taking great strides in their use of the pastel material. This quarter we congratulate Holly Horn - keep painting!

WINNER
Holly Horn
Old Webster Sunset		          

 

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