Encounter 1

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Oil on Panel 20 x 16 x 3/4"

Rainy days can also bring unexpected, happy moments. Right now this gentleman has no idea how much surprise he will soon have... 😊

This painting is the 1st piece of my "Encounter" series. The main character of this series is a bachelor in his early fifties. As I started working on the gentleman's characteristic and the more I was thinking about how I should shape his fate in my story, I became more and more fond of him. Later I realized an inexplicable feeling of déja vu when I was painting him. And from that second I was no longer in control of the events on the canvas.

This painting has received a Finalist award at The Gateway International Painting Competition!!! All monthly finalists are chosen and critiqued by a different professional artist judge each month, and compete for Grand Prizes awarded in August 2020. Here’s the judge’s comment: "The artist immediately conveys to the viewer the feeling of an outside observer of life. Masterfully and subtly, the master conveyed all the details of wet and fogged glass. Looking at the picture, we almost physically feel the humidity of the air. The artist invites us to stop and solve the riddle, where does the person go, what is waiting for him?" Judge and Category: Nelya Akimova, Abstract Professional

I'm extremely honored that my "Encounter" has been juried into the 53rd Founders Juried Awards Exhibition of Naples Art. The Gallery has received 900+ (!) artwork entries for this yearly national competition, and I'm so grateful that my painting is among the 50 finalist artworks showing at this amazing exhibition. The 53rd Founders Juried Awards Exhibition is a national exhibition open to artists residing in the United States. Founders exhibitions are a long-held tradition honoring the artists who came together in 1954 to create Naples Art, the first non-profit visual arts organization in Collier County, Florida. Founders exhibitions serve as a platform for local artists to share the spotlight with their peers at the national level. The brick-and-mortar exhibition will be on view in Naples, Florida from Dec. 6. 2019 - Jan. 9. 2020 . The jurors are: John Loscuito, Art Gallery Director, Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers; Robert Lovejoy, Art Professor at American University in Washington, D.C. and Erin Palmer Szavuly, Associate Professor and Art Dept. Chairperson at Lourdes University in Sylvania, Ohio. Located in the heart of the 5th Avenue South dining and entertainment district, the non-profit Naples Art Association is celebrating its 65th year as the premier visual arts organization in the City of Naples, Florida.