Wednesday Studio member wins art league January challenge

Congratulations to Karen Van Allen, who won the Capitol Hill Art League’s monthly challenge.

The art league’s theme for January was “Winter,” and eight Wednesday Studio members were among the 33 artists who submitted works representing winter. The monthly challenge is not primarily a competition, it’s just a friendly way for artists to see each other’s work and stay in touch, especially during this difficult pandemic time.

That said, a few month’s ago, the Hill Center in DC offered a prize for the work considered the best knife rendition (that monthly theme was “Knives Out.”) This competition evolved to the current mode–a member of the art league chooses the winner each month (no prize, just bragging rights), and the winner then becomes the judge for the next month’s theme.

See how much fun we can have during a pandemic?

We were all pleased to learn that Karen won the January challenge. Last month’s winner, Mike McSorley, who was the judge, said this about Karen’s work: “This piece got me with the variety of values and the mystery surrounding it.”

Karen had submitted two works to the “Winter” challenge, and it is this first one, Winter in a Cigar Box, that won. Her other submission and the submissions from other Wednesday Studio members are also below.