Artist Statement from Nick Long, recipient of the 107th Exhibition, Dale Meyers Cooper Award and Medal for Watercolor:
"Time-worn objects with beautiful patinas, unusual shapes, and textures hold a special interest for me. Used with humor, subtlety, and a conceptual point-of-view they become metaphors for our lives. The objects in this painting fit my criterion for a strong painting: dynamic composition, contrasting textures, a physical presence and a strong concept. I don’t always create narratives but with “Diversity” I enjoyed suggesting a relevant topic to spark a response among viewers."
Winning Painting at left- "Diversity"
Nick Long, educated at the University of Tennessee where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1972, had the opportunity to study with Carl Sublett, NA, a master watercolorist who moved with ease among styles as divergent as Abstract Expressionism and a highly personal form of romantic realism. The seminal abstractionist Walter Hollis Stevens was an early influence on Nick’s mastery of the language of abstraction, while both men demonstrated, and helped him attain, a thorough grounding in technique. In 1977, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee where he pursued a career in design and illustration. Developing, over the years, an “edginess” in his award-winning work.
His paintings and drawings have been featured in a number of important national and international juried exhibitions/competitions, winning 30 awards. To cite but a few examples, in 2001, he received the Kent Day Coes Memorial Award in the American Watercolor Society’s 134th International Exhibition and was also chosen for the AWS 135th Exhibition, The Artist’s Magazine international competition where Nick was a finalist in the still-life category in 2001 and 2003. In 2006, he was featured in The Artist’s Magazine and also won First Place in the still-life cate gory (after winning Fourth Place in 2005) in Watercolor Magic’s international competition.
Long was also juried into the prestigious International Guild of Realism’s “Leading Masters of Realism” exhibition on Cape Cod where he won Best of Show. Nick was awarded the A.E.S. Peterson Memorial Award from the National Society of Painters in Casein and Acrylic and also the Past President’s Award in the Tennessee Watercolor Society Biennial exhibition. In 2012 and 2013, he was a Finalist in the international competition of the Art Renewal Center, a prestigious organization whose mission is to promote the finest in realism worldwide. In 2017 and 2018, Nick achieved two of his major career goals by being included for the first time as a Signature Member in the American Watercolor Society’s 150th International Juried Exhibition at the Salmagundi Club in New York and also being elected to Signature Membership in the Allied Artists of America in New York. In 2020, Nick has been awarded the Dale Meyers Cooper Award and Medal for Watercolor in the 107th International Exhibition of the Allied Artists of America.
www.nicklongart.com
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