PAA awards several county fair ribbons

Sylvia Coleman PAA publicity co-chair

The El Dorado County Fair was especially delightful for Placerville Arts Association volunteers who “sat the show” during the Fine Arts and Photography Exhibits as they welcomed thousands of fairgoers to view and enjoy these two exhibits. This year, as always, many artists and photographers of all ages submitted their creations to be part of the large Fine Art and Photography shows. There was a wide variety of subject matter and art media. All entries in each exhibit were judged and many di erent awards were given.

This year, PAA sponsored The Spirit of the Sierra awards. The winners are:

• Youth Fine Arts –(untitled) by Jake Forest (Gold Trail School)

• Youth Photography –

“Rushing River” by Kylia Montesanti

• Adult Photography –

“Emerald Bay” by Terry Benton

• Adult Fine Arts

– “American River at Coloma” by Carolyn Cunningham

• Adult Fine Arts –

“The Medicine Wheel” by John Scha

Additionally, there is always a People’s Choice Award. This year’s award was the Lorna Dillon Memorial Award in remembrance of Dillon and all her contributions as head of the Photography Exhibit at the fair. This award is selected by fairgoers who vote for their favorite entry after looking at the Fine Art exhibit. Whichever piece gets the most votes is awarded this coveted award.

This year’s people’s choice winner is Jeremy Wells for his drawing “Focus.” Wells received a $100 cash award from PAA’s outreach fund. The 18-year-old artist also won the Golden Johnny Award from fair o cials as best individual exhibitor for his four Fine Art Exhibit entries in pencil, ink and charcoal.

PAA welcomes new members all year long. Meetings are held the third Monday of the month. Each meeting is designed to help artists expand and grow in their artistic skills. Members are encouraged to participate in two annual Member Shows at the EDC Government Center in Placerville and be a part of the annual Studio Art Tour. Members are also encouraged to enter the National Mother Lode Art juried show in November.

To view online the exclusive 2023 PAA Summer Members Show, The Artist’s Mind, at the Bank of America Gallery at the Harris Center in Folsom visit paa.gallery. For more information about PAA visit placervillearts.com and visit the nonprofit group on Facebook.