John Salminen and me with my San Juan River Big Horn and Jaguar Reflection II paintings.

As I mentioned in my last blog post a couple of days ago, regarding my acceptance into the International Guild of Realism, there were two other exciting events that occurred during the week of May 13. The second happened at the artist’s reception for the Northern Arizona Watercolor Society’s Spring Watercolor Exhibition held in Sedona, Arizona on May 17.

The reception was held at the Sedona Art Center, and featured over fifty artists who had been juried into the exhibit by internationally recognized watercolorist Mr. John Salminen. Mr. Salminen traveled to the reception from his home in Minnesota. Attendees were treated to wine and hors d’oeuvres on a beautiful evening deep in the famous red rocks of Sedona.

About half way through the evening, everyone gathered around to listen to an awards presentation to artists who had earned special recognition. Mr. Salminen acted as judge for determining the awards, and handed out the prizes while Chairman of the Society, Marsha Owen, read the names of the winners.

One of my paintings, San Juan River Bighorn, received the Honorable Mention Award and certificate. Needless to say, I was very excited to have been chosen to receive an award from among such a prominent field of artists. Mr. Salminen graciously spent a little time with me discussing my paintings, why they were selected for inclusion in the show, and why he felt the San Juan River Bighorn merited an award.

But, wait. There’s more to come in this week of excitement and accomplishment. Look for the third installment of this past week’s activities coming soon.