I am pleased to be able to report another indication that realistic art is making a comeback. One of my paintings has just taken the top prize in the professional division of the art show at the New Mexico State Fair, which is still going on right now. A lot of regional professional artists enter this show, many of them doing the so-called "contemporary" "modern" art that used to win prizes there. You may
remember the embarrassment that this show suffered some years ago when they gave the top award to a chimpanzee, not knowing that a zoo animal had done the painting. The public ridicule they suffered at that time may have jarred the officials of this show to begin coming to their senses.
At any rate, this year the awards ALL went to realist art, while the "modern" stuff was ignored!
Not only that, but I was told yesterday that the three paintings I submitted are ahead in the "public favorites" voting, in which visitors to the Fine Arts building vote for their favorites in the show. So it
appears that the public is no longer afraid to admit that it likes REAL art over the junk! I think this is very encouraging for the future of art in America, and I hope it is happening everywhere.
