Bird Fest poster art winner showcases Skagit swans

Artist Janis Howes has been name d the winner of the 2022 Puget Sound Bird Fest Poster Art Contest with her watercolor and gouache painting called “Trumpeter Swans of Skagit Valley Farmlands.”

The piece was selected by a jury from among 17 entries, and will be featured on the promotional poster for the 2022 Puget Sound Bird Fest in Edmonds Sept. 10-11.

The contest is held each spring to select a piece of original art to be used for the festival’s promotional poster. Sponsored by the Edmonds Arts Festival Foundation, the winning artist is awarded $350.

The Puget Sound Bird Fest is an annual celebration of birds and nature every September in Edmonds. Typically, the weekend-long event offers presentations by local experts, field activities, exhibits, vendors, kids’ activities, and workshops and demonstrations. Many activities are free; other activities require a nominal fee and advance registration.

“Trumpeter Swans of Skagit Valley Farmlands” was inspired by Howes’ visits to Skagit Valley, where so many swans and geese spend their winters.

“The Trumpeter Swans really captured my curiosity,” Howes said. “The way they run along the surface of a pond, honking as they take flight, looking so graceful and serene flying above the farmlands.”

The painting was selected by the jury because of its exceptional sense of place, movement, and evocative storytelling qualities.

“Landscapes are difficult to do,” said Tanya Sharp, who represented the Edmonds Arts Commission on the jury. “This piece really shows the range of close-up to farther away.”

The theme of each year’s poster art contest is determined by the subject of the keynote presentation. This year, renowned swan biologist Martha Jordan will be presenting “Washington’s Swans and Snow Geese: Connections to Land Use, Agriculture, and Dairy Farms” Sept. 10 at 10:30 a.m. in the Edmonds Plaza Room.

Howes has worked in the graphic arts for the past 30 years as a graphic designer and illustrator. In 2016, she earned a certificate in natural science illustration from the University of Washington and has lately focused her work on birds, botanical subjects, and other wildlife using colored pencil, graphite, watercolor, gouache, and pen and ink.

To learn more about the Puget Sound Bird Fest: www.pugetsoundbirdfest.org.