I am ecstatic to announce that my work "Breaking Free" (pictured above) has been awarded an Honorable Mention in the 2012 All-Media Art Competition from The Artist's Magazine.  The winners will be announced on their website at a later date.

It was brought to my attention the other day that there was a very nice article that was written in the University of Illinois Springfield publication "Illinois Issues" about the artisans program with the Illinois State Museum.

You can read the article HERE.

I was floored to see that I was mentioned in the article and that Carolyn Patterson would say this about my work:

"They include Sandra Willard of Springfield, who uses scratchboard to produce highly detailed images. “She’s a magician,” Patterson says. “Her work is just completely magical.”

I am very flattered and humbled by her kind words.

I have been an artisan with the Illinois State Museum for a little over a year now and I'm very proud to be among such talented people. The calibre of work you will find in the museum gift shops is outstanding and I highly recommend that you go there if you're looking for a unique gift.

I've had a few people requesting to see some pictures from the show and I thought I should share them on my blog so that everyone can see them!

When you first arrive you will see this inviting chair in the lobby and a fabulous poster they created using my piece titled "Bowl of Cherries" (which is actually not in the show, strangely enough).

Here is a close up of the poster as it appeared inside the gallery.

On a side note, you might have noticed that my show is called "Scratching the Surface" which was the same name used by the group of scratchboard artists over at WetCanvas (who have now become ISSA) for the first international scratchboard exhibition.  I hadn't realized that until a while after I submitted my exhibition application to the University almost 2 years ago.  What an interesting concidence (that or I am not as creative as I thought!).

When we first arrived there was a really nice turnout!  In the picture here (even though it's very blurry) you can see some of the folks enjoying the tasty appetizers, cheese, crackers, fruit and refreshments.  It was very humbling that the University did all of this for my show.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Here is a picture of one of our family friends viewing some of my work in the back corner of the gallery. 

Even though this gallery is an hour and a half from where I live some of my friends made the long trip out to be there for me.  I have the greatest friends a person could ever ask for!

Towards the end of the night, when most people had left, I took a wider picture of the gallery from the entrance.

It's hard for me to describe how big the gallery is because I can't show it all in one picture.  There are a total of 44 framed scratchboard artworks hanging throughout the gallery.

Oh and yes that is a coat rack in the center and not some form of modern art (or at least I hope that's the case since I hung my coat up there with everyone else).

The last picture I am adding to this post is one of my husband, Thomas, and myself.  My ability to be a full time artist is because of his love and support.  Without him none of this would have been a reality for me.

I am very excited to say that my solo exhibition "Scratching the Surface: The Scratchboard Art of Sandra Willard" in the Illini Union Art Gallery at the University of Illinois (Urbana) begins tomorrow and it will continue until January 20, 2012.

There will be an opening reception from 5:00 to 7:00pm CST tomorrow and I will be there to answer any questions or hear your thoughts on my work.  Everyone is welcome.

I am exhibiting 44 works of art and many of them are new ones (such as "Symphony" pictured above).  Most will be available for purchase with the exception of 3 works that have been generously loaned from the J. Williams private collection and 1 from the C. Tsang private collection.

I am so happy to announce that the hard work of a group of scratchboard artists has blossomed into a new society that is representing our medium.  It is the International Society of Scratchboard Artists and they are now accepting applications for membership.

I won't go into the history about how this society came to be as they have written it (much more eloquently than I ever could) on their website.

I have the honor of not only being a founding member (currently acting as Secretary for the Board) but I also have the distinction of Master Scratchboard Artist (MSA).  The first group of MSA members for ISSA were determined by an outside group of artists who are masters in their own fields and so it was a great honour for me to be counted among them as a peer.

I hope that you will take the time to visit the society's website and perhaps even consider becoming a member.

I'm absolutely thrilled and honored to say that "Gerbera and Grapes" was one of the works selected for an article in the 2011 October issue of American Art Collector regarding the 6th Annual International Guild of Realism show that will be opening tonight at the Sage Creek Gallery in Santa Fe, NM.  The show will run until October 22, 2011.

If you are interested in seeing all of the works that were selected for this juried exhibtion then click here for the online exhibition.

If you love still lifes of food then you are going to love the art selected by Betty Refour on EBSQ's art for the week.  You can see the rest of the works selected here.

Tomato Tomato
2" x 2"
This piece is available for purchase.  Please contact me for details.

I was so excited to find out that "Gerbera and Grapes" (pictured above) has won 2nd place in the Drawing category in this year's Illinois State Fair's Professional Art competition!

I'm hoping to stop by the fair and check out the exhibition.  The work I see there each year is always better than the last year's show and never fails to inspire me.  I also love seeing what is going on in the amateur/student competitions as well.  If you're in the area you'll have to stop by and then post your thoughts here about the exhibition.  I would love to hear what you have to say.

I'm totally thrilled to announce that my work, "Adaptation", has been accepted for publication in this outstanding book series by North Light Books.  The anticipated release date is October 2012.

An amazing 1650 people applied and I was one of the 112 artists chosen to participate in this publication.  What an incredible honor! 

The Strokes: Best of Drawing series showcases the art of drawing by contemporary masters and covers everything from sketchbook renderings to highly detailed, finished works.  As a fan and collector of the series I recommend that you take a look at them the next time you are in your local bookstore.  The third book in the series, "Fresh Perspectives", can be pre-ordered through www.amazon.com and you can see it here.