How judges evaluate art and photography

TILTON — Member artists and photographers of the Lakes Region Art Association were privileged to hear from two prominent professionals, photographer Jean Wozniak, of Auburn, and sculptor Tom DeVaney of Concord, on what they looked for when judging entries in LRAA’s 2022, Art and Photography annual contest. Each explained they focused on ones drawing skills, composition, color palette, balance, values, use of colors, techniques, presentation, contrast to catch the eye and then for the "wow" factor. Some of those factors include having a built-in atmosphere, a mood, etc.

During the meeting, a number of LRAA members volunteered to have one of their paintings, or a photograph, the subject for a one-on-one discussion with the judges on what each saw, what they tried to accomplish, praised and/or what could be done do to improve their work. One other factor the judges emphasized was how important framing is, or if unframed, how "clean" the image is presented.

Wozniak specializes in outdoor family and pet photography, business portraits and fine art/landscapes. She is a master/certified professional photographer and a graduate from the NH Institute of Arts. DeVaney is the owner of Tom DeVaney Fine Arts in Concord. He’s earned his MFA in sculpture from the University of Michigan, BFA in Sculpture from Boston University, and teaches art and sculpture at New Hampshire Technical Institute.

The Lakes Region Art Association Art Gallery is a non-profit members run association of fine art painters and photographers who sell their work at cost without the usual 50% to 100% mark-ups typically found in commercial galleries. It is located in the Tanger Outlets, Suite 300. The LRAA Art Gallery is open Thursday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.