GCA's Still Life Painting Competition Kicks Off Today! Awards Party is this Friday, 7-9pm!

Detail from a composition in progress.....

At 8:30am Sunday morning, after gathering for NY bagels and coffee, Judges Jacob Collins and Tony Curanaj sat down with the finalists to go over the rules of this six-day, live competition taking place in GCA's Midtown Studios, July 27 - August 1. The ten painters are competing together, in the same studio, to compose and paint a still life in 48 hours, over six consecutive days. Judges will award a Grand Prize of $10,000, and Second and Third Place Prizes of $3,000 and $2,000, respectively. Rosemary & Co. Brushes has generously offered to donate additional prizes!

The painters were allowed to bring a suitcase of objects from home with which to compose a still life painting. To heighten the challenge, the judges unveiled mystery objects everyone had to include in their composition. Six objects were revealed, and the painters could pick three to use in their composition. SCROLL DOWN for images of the mystery objects!

The artists are:
Caleb Carter, Jeremy Deck, Grace DeVito, Hans Guerin, Justin Hess, Sam Hung, Michael Klein, Noah Layne, Cesar Santos (straight from the Hudson River Fellowship) and Justin Wood.

The judges are:
Jacob Collins
Artist, Founder of the Water Street Atelier, Hudson River Fellowship, Grand Central Academy and the Grand Central Atelier (coming shortly to LIC, QUEENS!!!)

Keith Christiansen
Chairman of the Department of European Paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Tony Curanaj
Artist, GCA Instructor, and the inventor of this competition!!

The volunteers are:
A million thanks to the volunteers who helped set up the studio and who will be monitoring all week: Anthony Baus, Kevin Muller, Katie Engberg, Patrick Byrnes, Liz Beard, Mariana Hernandez-Rivera, Audrey Rodriguez and Dale Zinkowski!!

Yellow Onions

Cinnamon Scented Pine Cones

Tinted Bottles

These books have been generously loaned to the GCA by the General Society for Mechanics and Tradesmen Library located on the ground floor of this building. Some are from the 1800's. One call slip shows check outs from 1910!

White, yellow and peacock feathers! Painters could pick one or more feathers.

Tulle!

The following Competition Events are free and open to the public. Come on by!

Daily Lunch-Hour Viewings of the Work-in-Progress

Sunday - Friday, 1-2pm, (July 27 - August 1)

Awards Party and Final Viewing

This Friday, August 1, 7-9pm. Awards to be announced by 8pm. Refreshments will be served.

RSVP

*Competition events take place at 20 West 44th Street, (5th & 6th Aves), 6th Floor, GCA's Studios