Breckenridge Texan

On Saturday night, the Breckenridge Fine Arts Center was filled with community members and visiting artists, who gathered for the 28th annual Juried Art Show. This year’s top winner was Jeff Gottfried, whose bronze sculpture won Best of Show.

Liz Bonham, an oil painter from Southlake, was the juror in the BFAC’s 28th annual Juried Art Show. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge)

The show features more than 100 works of art, including paintings, drawings, sculptures, carvings, weaving, collages and assemblage pieces. The art in the exhibit was chosen from more than 200 entries that came in from across the country.

Many of the artists in the show are from Texas, but several are from other states, including Arizona, California, Idaho, Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Utah and Washington.  Jerome Cooksey is the only Breckenridge artist with a piece in the exhibit.

The juror for the show is Liz Bonham of Southlake. She is an oil painter who graduated from Abilene Christian University. In addition to painting portraits, landscapes and still-lifes, Bonham also has illustrated Christian books, including “The Crippled Lamb” by Max Lucado, which won the Gold Medallion Book Award.

“There is some amazing artwork in this show,” she said. “And it is really hard just to pick a select few pieces when you have so many strong pieces.”

Bonham made her initial selections for the show by looking at pictures of the artwork that each artist submitted. But, when it came time to choose the winners of the four awards, Bonham waited until she could see the works in person on Saturday afternoon before she made those decisions. “You can’t really judge the final thing until you see them in person,” she said.

During Saturday night’s reception, Bonham explained that when judging a show, she looks at the three C’s, concept, craftsmanship and composition, among other technical and emotional aspects.

“When it comes down to it, at the end, (I’m looking to see) does it have that ‘wow’ factor,” she said. “is it something that just really grabs you, something you just want to go back and look at because it has an emotional connection with the viewer. All the pieces I selected tonight have an emotional connection.”

This year’s show included four major awards: BFAC Best of Show ($2,000), Clay Pitzer Memorial award ($1,500), Lester and Virginia Clark Memorial award ($1,200) and the Travis H. Toland Memorial Award ($500). Plus, Bonham chose three pieces to receive honorable mention awards.

The winners of the Breckenridge Fine Arts Center’s 28th annual Juried Art Show are:

Best of Show

“By the Sweat of Thy Brow” by Jeff Gottfried of Cleburne, bronze; Gottfried also has another sculpture in the show, “Cow Horse Siesta,” also a bronze.

Clay Pitzer Memorial award

“Megan” by Tanja Gant of Hawkins, pencil drawing

Lester and Virginia Clark Memorial award

“Foxy Companions” by Ezra Tucker of Monument, Colorado

Travis H. Toland Memorial Award

“Hello, Goodbye” by William Schneider of Village of Lakewood, Illinois

Honorable Mentions

“Honor” by Lori Kirwin of Fort Worth

“Feels Like Summer” by Erin Medellin of Weatherford

“Shy Guy” by Robyn Cook of Neosho, Missouri

The BFAC’s annual Juried Art Show will be on exhibit through Sept. 6. The BFAC is located at 207 N. Breckenridge Ave. Currently, the art center is observing summer hours and is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. For more information, call 254-559-6602.

Attendees at Saturday’s reception look at some of the artwork featured in the Breckenridge Fine Art Center’s annual Juried Art Show. The exhibit will be on display through Sept. 6. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Story by Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan

Cutline, top photo: Jeff Gottfried, an artist from Cleburne, won the Best of Show award in the Breckenridge Fine Art Center’s 28th annual Juried Art Show. The bronze sculpture, along with the other art works featured in the show, will be on display through Sept. 6. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)