2023 Members' Juried Exhibition
Online Exhibition
Open to all PPS members, this show will be on view through our website from March 16- April 15, 2023.
The entries were juried by Susan M. Story PSA-MP, IAPS/MC.
Best in Show
Teresa DeSeve, “Her Day’s End”
I loved the looseness contrasted by the play of detail where needed to help guide the eye through the figure. The artist gives us the right balance between detail and varying edges to keep our interest. This contemporary figure painting is original, demonstrates the ability to draw, has a strong composition, and it is a personal statement of style.
2nd PLACE
Paulette Staley, “17 Mile Drive”
This high-key landscape makes me squint my eyes to protect them from the sun. The landscape displays a lot of skill using bold, clean, strokes, and subtle temperature and color changes to describe the textures and light. The vehicle and figure are placed well, leading the eye through the piece. The scale is spot on with just enough information that the details are not distracting.
3rd PLACE
Patricia Quigley, “Blue Window”
The more I look at this piece, the more I see: the cool light coming through the window hitting the objects on the window sill, the warm line of light on the bottom of the shade, and then I noticed the flowers outside the window. My eyes go around and around, finding more details with each pass.
Judge of Awards
Susan M. Story PSA-MP, IAPS/MC
Judge’s Statement: “I take juroring a show very seriously, having been on both sides of the decision. I prefer judging blindly to be as unbiased as possible. Every judge has their own criteria for selecting awards, and therefore it is subjective.
My criteria is for good art, not good painting. Painting is a skill, whereas art is the ability to create a personal statement. For me, there are some rules that go with this: originality, ability to draw, a strong composition, and mastery of the medium.
It was a challenge to narrow the awards down to three. Congratulations to you all for sharing your work with the world. It brings joy and comfort to us. Thank you for the honor of being your awards judge in 2023! Paint on, everyone!”
Biography: Susan M. Story is an award-winning, passionate landscape painter from upstate New York. She is a Signature–Master Pastelist member of the Pastel Society of America (PSA) and serves on the society’s Board of Governors. Story is a juried member of New York City’s Salmagundi Club, as well as the Academic Artists Association, Audubon Artists, Hudson River Valley Art Association, and Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club.
Story was featured as one of today’s 100 most recognizable names in pastel in the 2019 book Pure Pastel, edited by Anne Hevener. Her work was also published in the October 2015 issue of Pastel Journal.
The honors she has received include the Gold Medal of Honor from Audubon Artists and the Anna Hyatt Huntington Bronze Medal for Pastel from the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club. Her awards from PSA include the Herman Margulies Award for Excellence, donated by Dianne B. Bernhard, and the Richard McKinley Mentorship Award in memory of Margaret Stahl-Moyer.
More information about Susan M. Story can be found at