Competition Judges

The art competition judging occurs Thursday, September 26, 9-11 AM. 

A selection of the judges’ artwork will be on display (and for sale) in the Escalante Town Park Exhibit Tent.

 

Bill Cramer is best known for his striking oil paintings of the American West. Growing up in the west, Bill always had an interest in exploring nature and creating art. As a longtime rock climber, he spent much of his youth enjoying the more vertical aspects of the landscape. After receiving a fine arts degree from CSU Long Beach, he moved to Arizona with his wife Michelle to be closer to the scenery they both enjoyed. It was there that he discovered the delight and challenges of plein air painting, his outdoor experiences providing much of the insight and inspiration for his landscape paintings. Bill works in a style best described as Impressionistic Realism, where strong brushwork and colors are used to express the vitality and beauty of the natural world. You can see his work at https://www.billcramerstudio.com/.

 

Helga Watkins has had a wide-ranging career in graphic, environmental and experiential design, as well as higher education. She recently retired from her professorship at the University of Las Vegas Nevada where she founded the graphic design Graphic Design  and Media degree program and taught in the Entertainment Engineering and Design  program. Helga works and paints from her fabrication shop and studio in Kanab, Utah. You can see more of her work here.

 

The third judge will be the 2024 Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Artist in Residence – Plein Air Program.