"Old Harbor in Cap Ferrat"
$2,500 3rd Place Winner!!!
This painting, "Old Harbor in Cap Ferrat" by Derek Penix to me is the essence of the 19th c. "turn-of-the-century" look in painting. This piece reminds me of complex personalities of many of the French Impressionists turned into one. It's like Claude Monet, Pissarro, Degas... on "STEROIDS". The abstract quality of all the receding boats in the background are understood because of the "association factor".....we know they are boats because of the literalness of the ones in the foreground sitting on the water...your mind will fill in the blanks. I love the abstract quality of the dark cover in the lower boat which duplicates the water value and keeps you from being "hung up" on the first boat...it's only an introduction to the second boat that is fully disclosed. The concrete wharf is a great design tool to move you up through the boats to get to the ones at the back. The color palette is absolutely stunning because of the sophistication and control of chroma. The hot orange stripe on the second boat with a little more chroma in the blue is wonderfully complimented by the rest of the tonal color passages. Watch the blue continue to recede back through the boats and end up as a cover in the back boats. You don't usually see people paint water this color because the left side of their brain tells them, "It's got to be blue!" This is a museum piece, if I've ever seen one. And I wish it were in my own collection!!! Derek is a diamond in the rough and a fast approaching star! You're awesome, baby!!! Congratulations Derek! - Charles Warren Mundy
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Finalist
Award Sponsor: RayMar Art
Judge: Tony Pro
Docked by Derek Penix
8 x 8 Oil
Judge's Comments: This little gem caught my eye right off the bat. It is so freshly painted and confident. I can tell that Derek has painted from life and knows his medium and this subject speaks to the freshness it was painted in. This is the reason to paint alla prima and Derek's confident strokes really pay off for this statement. - Tony Pro
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Finalist
Award Sponsor: RayMar Art
Judge: John Burton
Antique Market in France by Derek Penix
20 x 24 Oil
Judge's Comments: This painting has such wonderful atmosphere. I enjoyed the movement around the painting created by the variety size and shape of the brushwork. There is a great sense of light created by the shadow planes being lit by the blue sky adding to the beauty of the orange complimentary umbrella. This painting makes me want to get outside and paint tomorrow. - John Burton |
