JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas — When 2017 Air Force Art Contest results were announced recently, two artists from the same installation celebrated repeat victories.
Josh Pugeau, a civilian missile inspector with the 709th Maintenance Support Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, won the adult accomplished division with his charcoal “Bearded Man.” He was the reserve champion last year with “Rhino.”
Jaycie Tate won the youth 13-17 category with her watercolor “Immersion.” She also won the category in 2016 with “Matthew Gray Gubler,” a portrait of the actor. She is the daughter of Cami Tate and Maj. Joshua Tate, deputy commander of the 75th Force Support Squadron at Hill.
The 2017 contest, organized by the Air Force Services Activity (AFSVA), drew 1,650 entries from 920 artists. Each artist was allowed to enter two works in a variety of media.
“AFSVA is proud to showcase the talents of our Airmen and families through our contests. This year’s art contest entries displayed the outstanding abilities of a variety of artists, in youth and adult categories. The online gallery features the entries of our Warfighters and their families for all to enjoy,” said Jonathan Grammer, AFSVA director of programs.
Pugeau said he drew “Bearded Man” in white charcoal on a black background and framed the work with a white mat board and black frame for a clean and simple presentation.
“Originally I wanted to create something I could hang in my house that would remind me of that old wise man, like an uncle or a grandfather. I thought that worked well with the dark figure staring off into space, perhaps deep in thought,” he said. “The artwork that was submitted this year was very impressive, so all around, I’m feeling pretty incredible about receiving first place in the accomplished category.”
Jaycie, a 17-year-old senior at Davis High School in Kaysville, Utah, said the artwork is an outlet for her emotions.
“I love the relief it can provide, especially when I have people around who support me. I really worked hard on this piece, and it was the one I did for the watercolor class at school. I really liked the idea of doing watercolor and as I was looking for inspiration, I kept coming across these unique colors. I just loved the emotion ‘Immersion’ evokes,” she said.
Rudy Lopez, an instructional design professional with AFSVA, and other art experts judged the online competition. He agreed with Pugeau’s assessment about the quality of the artwork.
“Scoring each entry to eventually come down to the top three in each category was a difficult task. All the artists definitely brought their A-game this year using varying media, from charcoals, watercolors, acrylics, oils, and even some mixed-media techniques,” he said.
Lopez said a look at this year’s winning entries reveals “the amount of incredible talent this venue draws from our Air Force men and women and their families.”
Winners in each category received an Amazon gift card: $300 for first place, $200 for second place and $100 for third place.
In the adult accomplished category, John Urso of Scott AFB, Illinois, placed second with his acrylic on wood painting, “B-52”; and Misuk Goltz of Travis AFB, California, was third with “Smoke Break,” a watercolor.
In the adult novice category, Kayla Jaramillo of Buckley AFB, Colorado, placed first with her acrylic “Swallow Your Pride, Life Isn’t Fair”; Leanne Yelle of Altus AFB, Oklahoma, was second with “Gluttony” in Prismacolor pencils; and Kristina Heilser of Minot AFB, North Dakota, was third with her oil painting “Pure Joy.”
In the youth 13-17 category, Natalie Prince of RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom, was second with her colored pencil drawing “Radiant”; and Eston Ball of Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, was third with “Imperfections,” a charcoal drawing.
In the youth 9-12 category, Isabella Johnson of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado, placed first with her acrylic “Drifting About”; Jonathan Brown of Scott AFB was second with his watercolor “Rowboat”; and Gabrielle Davis of Eglin AFB, Florida, was third with her colored pencil “Mother Earth in Our Hands.”
In the youth 6-8 category, Katelyn Waters of Hurlburt Field, Florida, won with “K’s Sugar Skull” in colored pencils and ink; Marleigh Cash of Yokota Air Base, Japan, was second with her watercolor “The Peacock”; and Hannah Parker of RAF Alconbury, United Kingdom, was third with her pastel “The Horse and His Meadow.”
See the works of the winners on http://www.myairforcelife.com/arts/art-contest-winners.aspx and browse all the entries on https://artsandcrafts.wishpond.com/2017-art-contest/.
