1st Place, Pencil : - Midday Break by Sandra Connolly.

1st Place, Pastel : - The Eaves Dropper by Kathy Saram.

Art at the Classic

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The 2002 Draft Horse Classic horse show hosted the 16th annual Art at the Classic art exhibit in Grass Valley, California, the latter part of September.

The majority of the artwork depicts horses, and many works portray draft horses. It is a horse show with over 200 draft horse entries, and the art exhibit and sale has grown with the horse show through the years. Art at the Classic is managed by artist/sculptor Judy Vargas, who creates the sculptured awards.

The Best in Show Award went to a remarkable colored pencil drawing titled, "The Bad Blacks" by Tonya Holland of Tucson, Arizona. Holland works primarily in colored pencil and acrylics and has painted many portraits of horses, pets and wildlife.

Holland remarks, "The photo references for this drawing were given to me years ago by a stable owner in Tucson where themed television commercials were frequently filmed. This team of black grade draft mares had a notorious reputation as frequent runaways. Only two drivers at the stable could reasonably control them. I just knew that I would have to immortalize these two surly characters someday."

Three-dimensional, Best of Show went to Terry Milobar with "Silent Partner" an exquisite bronze.

The winner of the pastel division was Kathy Sarman with "Eaves Dropper". Sarman's life has always included horses, and she currently lives on a 136-acre family hay ranch along the Carson River in Fallon, Nevada. She prefers pastels to create western art and portraits. Sarman is represented by the Lone Tree Gallery in Minden, Nevada, and Hermitage Gallery in Reno, Nevada.

Kim Campbell's lifetime experience with horses contributes to capturing their personality and depicting the energy that defines the horse as an athlete. Campbell of Knoxville, Tennessee, won first place in the colored pencil division at the Classic with "Twin Diesels".

Sandra Connolly's "Midday Break", a pencil drawing of two English Shires, won the pencil division. Her soft textured drawings strive for an ideal likeness of the subject.

"Shire Light", a large impressive 30" x 36" acrylic by Victor Wren, won the painting division and became this issue's cover image. (See cover story about Victor Wren here).

Other division winners include Patricia Brandt's watercolor, "Friesian Elegance". Photography was won by Gloria Muscarella's "Images of the Old West". June Maher took first in Mixed Media with "Stuart". Holly Irons won first in Ceramic with "Mustang Mare". "Beer Wagon" by Jerry Thomas was first in the Wood division and Michelle Cleveland took first in Metal with her "Front Runner". The coveted People's Choice was won by Carol Bowser with her unique wood sculpture titled "Art Appreciation".

Next year¹s show will be from September 18 - 23, 2003. To find out more information, contact coordinator Judy Vargas at 530-675-0103 or email her at vargasart@saber.net.

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