Last weekend, the Pearl River County Arts League hosted its 41st annual spring art show at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Picayune.
Attendees of the event viewed 226 entries from artists of various ages and talents.
PRCAL President and Show Chairman April Holifield said the event had a good turnout, especially for a rainy Saturday.
“We had a nice variety of paintings this year,” Holifield said. “There are extremely talented people in this area.”
Carriere artist Christine Bandera was the main judge of the art show.
Sandra Booker’s “Live to Ride” won best of show.
In the oils category, first place went to Sally Edwards for “Sharon’s Garden,” Marilyn Ackerman’s “Phaedra Turns to Stone” won second and third place was awarded to both Alma Callahan for “Lake Pontchartrain” and Jane Beard for “Swamp Life.”
Rosemarie Mahoney was awarded first, second and third place in the acrylic category for her works “Light It Up Blue,” “Show Off” and “A Bit of Soul.”
In the watercolor category, first place was awarded to Sandra Booker’s “Booker,” second place went to David Mounsey’s “Prison Life is Over,” and Ron Mile’s “Quiet Day at the Hotel” was awarded third place.
Eve Mahony’s “Pond Lilies at Richwood” won first place in the photography category and Shelia James Fletcher’s “Painted Sky” won second. Ursula Jarrett’s “What’s Up?” was awarded third place.
In mixed media, Lorraine Bryant’s “Cameron” won first place, Robin Veerkamp’s “Gerber Daisies” won second and Sandra Booker’s “1939 Ford” won third place.
Laura Ousset was awarded first place in the three dimensional category for her work “Gracious!” and Richard Swenson’s “Fish” was awarded second place. Third place went to John Houston’s “Screech Owl on Fence Post.”
Annaliese Marlin’s “Dragon Meets Owl” was awarded first place in the student pre-kindergarten category.
Timothy Schexnayder’s “Cool Hummer” won first place in the student one through three category and Tate Purvis won second and third for “Old Tractor” and “Harbor Traffic.”
John Patrick Rush won first and second place in the student four through six category for his work “Osprey” and Goshawk.”
In the student seven through nine category, Presley Mahoney’s “My Beautiful Oyster” won first place, Alex Holloway’s “Fish” was awarded second and Katie Crowe Steil’s “Warriors” won third place.
Malarie Johnson won first and third place in the student ten through 12 category for her entries “The World Molds What You See” and “Sahara.” Respectively, Theresa Crowe won second for “Need an Iron?”
Diane Richard won first and second place in the senior category for her works “Doxie” and “Majestic.”
Honorable mentions and novice awards were also awarded.
“We had a nice showing for student art section,” Holifield said. “They are extremely talented. That’s our future.”
Sarah Wallace was visiting from California and is also an artist.
“I love art,” Wallace said. “These are beautiful pieces here. I love the ones that utilized the scrap metal the most and also the woodcarvings.”
Bruce McDonald said there are a lot of talented artists in the area and that art provides a creative outlet for people. According to previous Item coverage, the league includes 75 local and practicing artists who create their work utilizing various techniques, including oils, acrylics, watercolors, pastels, mixed media, woodcarving, pottery and photography.
The group meets the first Tuesday of the month at Infused, which is located at 209 W. Canal St., Picayune.
Membership in PRCAL costs $25 per year, Sheasby said.
For more information, visit the PRCAL’s website at www.prcartsleague.com and follow them on Facebook at Pearl River County Arts League.