Amber Foote

Oils, pastels, and watercolors, oh my! Fine art of all forms and mediums is now on display at the Springville Museum of Art's 84th Annual Spring Salon.

Vern Swanson, director for the Springville Museum of Art, noted that in recent years the Salon has become very competitive and the quality of art has gotten better.

"We thought last year's Salon was the best we'd ever had," Swanson said. "This year's is even better."

The pieces in the Spring Salon are from talented Utah artists at different levels in their careers, who use a variety of styles and mediums. Included in the exhibition will be at least one piece from the 100 "Most Honored Artists of Utah."

All of the pieces accepted into the Salon were reviewed and judged, then broken down into four categories of artistic representation: Modernism/Post-Modernism, Traditional/Impressionism, Assemblage/Conceptual, and Visionary. The jurors chosen to judge the pieces in the Salon were Paul McCormack, award-winning New York artist, and Emily Stauffer, Salt Lake curator and appraiser. Of the honors given were three Director's awards, six first-, second-, and third-place Juror awards and 50 Merit awards.

Justin Taylor's oil on canvas figurative painting "Clarity at the End of Things" won the first place Juror's award in the show. The piece deals with three and half contemplative poses of a young woman.

"I had a friend in mind that I knew I wanted to paint," Taylor said. "We worked through some different clothing combinations and expressions, and came up with this particular pose. The concept deals with interpersonal relationships and how hindsight is 20-20."

Laurie Lisonbee's painting "Crazy Eight" took one of the third-place Juror's awards and is an oil and mixed media on wood panel piece showing a man balancing his weight on his hands and crossing his legs in a figure eight.

"The contorted, but perfectly balanced yoga pose expresses a personal narrative as well as a psycho-spiritual state of consciousness," Lisonbee said.

Sean Diediker's Merit award-winning oil painting, titled "The Unseen Collection," was inspired by a true story of the museum curators at the Hermitage Art Museum in St. Petersburg.

"When the Nazis attacked during WWII," said Diediker, "the paintings were removed from the museum, but the blind still came and the Curators still would describe those paintings even though they weren't there."

Diediker's piece holds a special connection to Swanson, who actually posed as the curator in the painting.

Justin Taylor said creating art is an emotional process, and receiving recognition is a welcome reinforcement.

"I think many painters would agree that sometimes putting an idea on canvas can be an emotional rollercoaster," Taylor said. "One day you feel fairly confident about what you've painted, and the next day you hate it and you're ready to get a job flipping burgers. It can be a little draining. Receiving some positive recognition for the painting is very appreciated and gratifying."

The museum's Spring Salon will run through July 6.