I feel like I should put on an overpriced gown and roll out the red carpet to announce the top picks in my recent Art Show Polls. But since I’m only rubbing shoulders with my cats and guinea pigs rather than stylish celebrities, I suppose it’s okay that I do this post in my shorts and sweater.

Last weekend I asked all my helpful readers to assist me in making some rather difficult decisions for my upcoming solo exhibition courtesy of the fine folks at the Clackamas County Arts Alliance. I’d like to give a big thanks to the people at CCAA who picked me to be one of the select few in this year’s Artist Exhibit Program and, of course, a huge thanks goes out to those of you who took the time to vote last weekend.

Oh wait, the acceptance speeches usually come AFTER the winners are announced. Oops, we better get on with that portion of the awards program…

WINNERS OF ROUND #1 – THE CARS

This race went back and forth throughout the polling, and in the end the tallies were very close. The two cars that will be driving onto to the gallery walls are “Blue Car” and “Yellow Car.”

WINNERS OF ROUND #2 – LEAFING OUT

After the difficulty of deciding Round #1, my voters had no trouble picking two winners in this round: “Bamboo” (now known as “The Neighbors’ Garden”) and “Gazing Ball.” However, there was a bit of a controversial ruling after the polls had closed…more on that later.

Winners of Round #3 – Flower Power

At this point my voters became just as indecisive as me and picked the All of the Above option, but three flowers ended up being too many for the show and one had to be eliminated. So, the flowers that will be sprouting in my show are “Anthurium” (now known as “Conservatory Pink”) and “Red Ginger.”

WINNERS OF ROUND #4 – AND THE REST

Again, decision making skills appeared to be falling away and my voters overwhelmingly selected All of the Above. I had really hoped to have all three of the choices in the show – after all, I scrambled last weekend to finish “London Lamps” to have it ready for voting – but I’ll explain why only “On the Rocks” and “Borris” will make it to the gallery walls in just a moment.

Voting Controversy! Polling Scandal!

As mentioned above “Fall Leaves” was not a favorite in the polls, but “London Lamps” was. At the time I put up the polls I completely agreed because I’ve always felt “Fall Leaves” was missing something.

However, as I played around yesterday trying to match my artwork to the frames I have on hand (another decision-making horror fest), I had to go against my voters’ decision. “London Lamps” just looked weird in the frame. I can’t explain it (and my husband disagrees with me), but the image looked odd to me in the frames I have.

A bit of panic settled in. I had already sent my artwork info to the show coordinator so she could make labels with titles and prices (don’t get me started on how hard deciding on prices was). And, with less than two weeks before the show, I didn’t have time to make anything new. So, I gave “Fall Leaves” another shot and placed a black mat over it with a black frame.

Holy crap! I had finally found what “Fall Leaves” was missing. Somehow the cropping the mat provided plus the dark framing really made the leaves pop in a way they hadn’t before. Luckily, I was allowed to make the minor change to my label info and “Fall Leaves” (now called “In the Fall”) is heading off to the gallery.

Now What?

After hours on end of cranking out artwork that had to meet a certain style for this show, I’ve taken a break this week from anything to do with art (except for testing out a new pack of colored pencils I received). I have to say, I’m a bit burned out of anything floral, so I may step back from any botanical art for a few weeks.

I’ve got plans for a few colored pencil pieces that are a bit more abstract as well as some reproductions of stained glass art and a few other things that are different from my usual highly realistic work. I’m also going to finally get a chance to play with the watercolor pencils I bought myself for Christmas.

The show starts in only 13 days (exciting!!!). I’ll be sure to post photos of the installation once it’s up. In the meantime, I’ve updated my Artwork pages, so if you need to kill some time, why not head over and give them a peek (and if you see any typos, do let me know!).

Thanks everyone and don’t fall victim to too many pranks today!