This year’s prize-winning paintings run the gamut from figurative to surrealism.
It will take more than a global pandemic or a hurricane-like derecho to keep Iowa artists from creating new art. Though the State Fair was cancelled, Iowa’s largest showcase for fine art boldly forged on. Iowa painters in particular premiered a collection of interesting, innovative and thought-provoking work.
Fanfare for the Mailman
(W 56th & 9th Ave., NYC)
Paul Marlow
First Prize Oil Painting sponsored by Susan Koenig Vande Haar and Dr. Dale Vande Haar
City: Cedar Rapids
Double First-Place Honors for Marlow at 2020 Iowa State Fair
Paul Marlow of Cedar Rapids, Iowa was awarded first place honors in both acrylic and oil painting. His work in oil, entitled “Fanfare for the Mailman (W 56th & 9th Ave., NYC)” calls the viewer to consider the daily struggle of the essential worker, and the current politicization of the U.S. Postal Service.
Zoey’s Pizzeria, July 5, 7:16 pm
Paul Marlow
First Prize Acrylic/Tempera sponsored by The Des Moines Women's Club
City: Cedar Rapids
This is Paul Marlow’s first-ever acrylic painting entered in the Iowa State Fair, yet it won first prize in that division. In “Zoey’s Pizzeria, July 5, 7:16 pm” , Marlow strikes a colorful balance between the long, cool shadows on the century-old buildings—while playing off the warmth of golden hour light. Sadly, part of the building featured in the painting collapsed in the Aug 10 derecho, which devastated a 722 mile-long swath of the Midwest.
2020 marked the 6th year in a row Marlow's work has been accepted in the Iowa State Fair Fine Arts competition, and the 4th year in a row Marlow has taken home prizes for his work. Since 2017, Marlow has earned 3-First, 2-Second and 1-Third Place awards in the Oil and Acrylic painting divisions.
Code Blue
Jordyn Welshons
Second Prize Oil Painting sponsored by Oracle Art Supply
City: Indianola
The Covid-19 pandemic is front and center in Jordyn Welshon’s outstanding portrait, “Code Blue” —the Second Prize winner in the oil painting category.
This work seems to prove that art, after all, can be about truth to our own experience of life and death. Welshon’s technique treats oils like watercolors, to great effect. We are confronted by the raw emotion of a health care worker who has seen too much, as she pulls down her mask, revealing a reddened, tear-stained face. We imagine she is delivering the worst possible news.
Portrait master John Singer Sargent once said, “A portrait is a picture in which there is something not quite right about the mouth”, and in this case, the result is devastatingly beautiful.
No Frogs
Chuck Bickel
Second Prize Acrylic/Tempera sponsored by Oracle Art Supply
City: Elkhart
Chuck Bickel is well known as a portrait painter and graphic artist, in both California and Iowa. An acolyte of artist Dimitar Krustev, and a veteran of past Iowa State Fair Fine Arts competitions, Bickel has created a thought-provoking and richly detailed surrealist tour de force. “No Frogs” won Second Prize in the Acrylic division.
Saguaro
Cheryl Ferriss
Third Prize Acrylic/Tempera sponsored by Tandem Brick
City: Altoona
Cheryl Ferriss presents a vivid and texturally rich landscape in “Saguaro” , which garnered Third Prize in the always-competitive Acrylic painting division. The work is a feast of hidden images set in America’s Great Southwest. Clearly, Ferriss loves to paint, as she explores and deftly manages color while using strong composition to depict a beautiful desert evening.
Where the Cricket Sings
William Allan
Third Prize Oil Painting sponsored by Nails & Spa
City: Glenwood
Another successfully rendered nocturne landscape, “Where the Cricket Sings” is a wonderfully simple painting that captured Third Prize in the Oil division. Allan’s color palette is thoughtfully restrained, and though his placement of the windmill dead-center in the composition could have been problematic, he brings balance to the work with a fence and large tree. Allen handles the night shadows in superb fashion. Clouds that partly obscure the star-filled sky round out this delightful work.
The Iowa State Fair Fine Arts Salon has a rich and vibrant history, going back to 1854. Many of Iowa's finest artists have won prizes at the state fair. Iowa artist Grant Wood won the competition in 1929. Wood painted "American Gothic" in 1930, which only garnered 2nd place at a Chicago Art Institute competition, but would go on to become the most-recognized portrait in the world, after “The Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci. Grant Wood won prizes at the Iowa State Fair 4 years in a row. This was the second year that the exhibit was limited only to artists living in Iowa.
This year also provides art viewers a virtual opportunity to see the submissions and vote for the People's Choice winner. Visit https://2020iowastatefair.artcall.org/pages/web-gallery to view a full gallery of images accepted into the show, and select "Web Gallery" at the top of the page to vote for your personal favorite. Voting will be live through August 23 and the winner will be announced August 25.