New Lights Competition Results

New Lights:
Results & Exhibition

Thank you.

Judging is now complete, and Tonalism.com would like to thank every artist who entered the inaugural New Light competition. We received entries from 24 countries, and the response has been incredibly encouraging. A second New Light competition will be announced shortly, with the long-term goal of growing New Light into a major international gallery exhibition. If you have any comments or suggestions for future competitions, we'd love to hear from you: get in touch.

Meet our judge, Brian Sindler

“I’m proud to be judging the inaugural Tonalism.com “New Lights” Competition. The competition received entries from artists all over the world, including New Zealand, England, Sweden, America, and Japan. It’s wonderful to see that the Tonalist movement is alive and well. There are many artists working in the Tonalist style. For some, it’s a lifelong way of working; for others, it may be a phase or simply an exploration of something new. However you’ve arrived at this particular movement, it’s a pleasure to see such a beautiful and diverse body of work from artists around the world.”

Learn more about Brian:
Social and Website: Instagram Facebook Website
Galleries: Gallery‍ 1261‍GPCA Gallery Be Primitive
Teaching and Musings: Substack ‍
Interview: Tonalism.com‍ ‍

In memory of David Sharpe

“Before we get to the entries, I’d like to say a few words about David Sharpe. David was originally supposed to be the judge for this competition. Unfortunately, because of his passing, he never had the opportunity. I was asked to step in and judge the competition in his absence, and I feel it’s important to acknowledge him before we begin.

I never had the opportunity to meet David in person. We exchanged several direct messages on Instagram, and we talked about art to some degree. I was a fan of his work, and we shared a common aesthetic. David had a way of describing that aesthetic—“It says nothing, but it says everything,” as I remember him saying, from our brief conversations,

David seemed like a true gentleman. I was very saddened to hear of his passing. Although I never had the chance to meet him in person, I have great respect for him as an artist, and from everything I’ve seen and heard, he also seemed to be a devoted husband and father. I’m honored to be judging this competition, and I’m sorry that David never had the opportunity to do it himself.”

A Note on Judging
Brian: “Before we get to the awards, I want to say a little bit about how I approached the judging. There’s certainly no exact science to judging a painting. For me, it often comes down to gut feeling—how a painting hits me emotionally or even viscerally. Of course, I’m one person with one opinion, and another artist or another judge might see things very differently. So, to everyone who entered, don’t be too discouraged if you didn’t receive an award, and don’t be too confident if you did. When you enter competitions, sometimes you win and sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you paint a really good painting that goes unnoticed, and sometimes a painting you may not think is your strongest work gets recognized. I think the important thing is to take it all in stride, keep painting, and enjoy the process. All the best, and congratulations to everyone who entered.”

The Awards

Best In Show

Denise LaRue Mahlke: ‘In Quiet Reverie’
Brian: “This is simply a beautiful painting. The deftness of the values, the design, and the beautiful color all contribute to the overall mood of the painting. This painting stood out immediately as the work of someone who has a real understanding of color and value.”
More of Denise’s work can be found here:
www.dlaruemahlke.com

1st Place

William Worcester: ‘Twilight’
Brian: “This painting has a really nice feel to it. It caught my attention right away. I can try to analyze it, but this is the type of painting that just tends to flow over you and hit you with a feeling rather than with the technical details.

Although it’s softly painted, it still has a strong graphic quality and a nice abstract design that pulled me in.”
More of William’s work can be found here
www.williamworcester.com

2nd Place

Justin Worrell: ‘The Voice of Centuries’
Brian: “The interesting yellow sky, the warm purplish clouds, the light coming through at the horizon, and the lighter snow on the ground all contribute to making this a beautiful winter sunset. The sparse trees contain just enough information to capture the beauty of bare trees without over-describing them.”
More of Justin’s work can be found here:
www.justintworrell.com

3rd Place

Carol Lee Thompson: ‘Solace’
Brian: “The simplicity of the design, the hazy atmosphere, and the reflections in the water all create an interesting, almost nostalgic painting. It looks like a place I’ve never been, but it feels like something I’ve seen before. It has a very appealing narrative quality, and what little drawing there is is very well done.”
More of Carol’s work can be found here: www.carolleethompson.com

Honorable Mention

Corey Hardeman: ‘Smoke’
Brian: “I’ve always been hesitant to bring up another artist when judging someone’s work, and if I do, it’s usually in a negative context. But in this case, because we’re dealing with a landscape painting, I find comparing it to an abstract painting to be an interesting proposition.

This painting has a very Rothko-esque feel to it. The division of space and the softness of the forms give what is obviously a landscape an abstract quality. The result is beautiful and mysterious.”

Honorable Mention

Carol Lee Thompson: ‘Softness’
Brian: “This painting has a great mood and captures a very peaceful feeling. It’s nondescript, yet it looks like a very familiar place.

The tight values and color harmonies add to the overall effect. And even though the canvas is somewhat divided in half, the color harmony and tonal values are more than strong enough to carry the painting.”

Full Exhibition

The inaugural New Light exhibition brings together paintings from artists around the world, celebrating the beauty, atmosphere and quiet poetry of contemporary Tonalism. Thank you to every artist whose work helped make this first exhibition possible.