95th ANNUAL MCLEAN COUNTY AMATEUR ART EXHIBITION
March 4 - April 9, 2022
APPLICATIONS are now closed. Applications for 2023's amateur exhibit will open early in the year. Stay tuned!
This year's Judge:
Doug DeWitt is a Chicago-area artist and ecologist whose found-object sculptures, drawings, environmental land art and video are inspired by natural history and Midwest landscapes. Originally from northwestern Ohio, DeWitt spent many childhood hours exploring his grandparents’ farm buildings and catching crawdads in the creek near his home. He received a BFA in graphic design from Bowling Green State University in 1985, then moved to New England to experience the coastal landscape while working in Boston. Returning to the Midwest, DeWitt earned an MA in Studio Arts from Illinois State University in 1990. He designed exhibits featuring natural history, wildlife and anthropology at the Field Museum of Natural History and John G. Shedd Aquarium, both in Chicago, where his love of nature, science and history merged with his art. DeWitt exhibits his artwork throughout the Chicago region and has shown in New York and South Korea. He is currently an ecologist and land manager with a private firm that restores native prairies, woodlands and wetlands, a profession that continues to inspire his art.
2021 AWARDS
Best of Show – Emma Oliver, Ethel
Ashley Ritter Award for Most Promising Art – Fariba Murray
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High School Graphics
1st Place – Jack Miller, Daniel Plainview
2nd Place – Kathleen Heuer, 8
High School Sculpture
1st Place – Colin Norsworthy, Doughnuts and Tea
2nd Place – Gabriel Tobin, Grandma’s Gauntlet
High School Painting
1st Place – Haley Webb, Maize of Imagination
2nd Place – Gabrielle Thomas, Observatory Gardens
High School Photography
1st Place – Braden Kralis, Hinged Cycles
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University Graphics
1st Place – Amy Yeager, Body II
2nd Place – Draper Matthews, Erlenmeyer
University Sculpture
1st Place – Emma Oliver, Ethel
2nd Place – Cooper Gibson, Discodreams
University Painting
1st Place – Jeanna Campbell, Fighting Beyond the Pain
2nd Place – Shahrbanoo Hamzeh, Untitled Yet
University Photography
1st Place – Danielle Keresztes (ked-a-stesh), Lavender Farm
2nd Place – Torie Knibbs, Taking Back the Night Sky
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Adult Graphics
1st Place – Fariba Murray, Nasturtium
2nd Place – Dave Fulghum, I’m Watching You
Adult Sculpture
1st Place – Deb Neumayer, Hard to Hold
2nd Place – Roger L. Alexander, Rustic Chair
Adult Painting
1st Place – Stew Salowitz, Hidden Stream
2nd Place – Yvonne Hoop, Dale’s Abstraction
*PLEASE NOTE: Following the closing of the exhibition, all artwork must be picked up between April 12-16.