"Inspired Palouse" nets nearly 40 entries

Almost 40 entries were submitted to the Inspired Palouse art contest by the July 24 deadline, according to the event sponsors, the Colfax Arts Council. The exhibit will open at The Center Aug. 18 and will be open during regular library hours. The reception and sale will be at The Center Saturday, Aug. 26, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

The first week of August, the works will be juried by a panel consisting of artists Carrie Vielle and Henry Stinson of Colfax and Ryan Hardesty, curator of the WSU art museum. The jurors will pick the top three entries for prizes. The community will have the opportunity to select a People’s Choice winner. A voting box will be located in the exhibit where visitors may cast their ballots through Aug. 25.

Inspired Palouse is one of the few competitions to include a variety of media competing to capture the essence of the Palouse. Entries include oil, acrylic, watercolor and pastel paintings, block prints, photography, metal work and sculpture. Styles vary from abstract to realism.

The competition is described as plein air inspired―a french term for open air, on-site painting. While not being required to paint or work on site, artists were asked to select specific subjects within a 40-mile radius of Colfax or on the Palouse Scenic Byway.

All works submitted for Inspired Palouse will be for sale and may be purchased during the Aug. 26 reception. The Arts Council will have provisions for cash or credit card payment. About $700 in prize money will be presented at 7 p.m. The reception will include hors d’oeuvres, the sale and an opportunity to meet and talk to the artists who come from throughout the local region and as far as Anacortes, Spokane and Lewiston.