Chosen by a ranked voting procedure, the art committee selected this year’s work from among more than 30 submissions.
| Updated
NEW HOPE, PA — The Phillips’ Mill juried art show committee has selected a pastel painting of the historic mill, “March Afternoon,” by Donna Ruane Rogers of Frenchtown as its Signature Image for the 95th Juried Art Show.
Chosen by a ranked voting procedure, the art committee selected Rogers’s work from among more than 30 submissions by artists living within a 25-mile radius of the Mill, one of the stipulations for submitting to the juried show itself.
Rogers was inspired by the light and shadows on the Mill the day she decided to enter the contest.
“One of my goals as an artist is to faithfully depict my subjects and their interaction with natural light,” she said.
Her painting of the Mill exhibits the skill and grace with which she does just that.
“March Afternoon” by Donna Ruane Rogers of Frenchtown, New Jersey.
Retired from a lifelong career in corporate graphic design, Rogers enjoys painting her favorite places around Frenchtown, Hunterdon and Bucks Counties, southern New Jersey and along the Jersey shore, painting both in her studio and en plein air.
Rogers is an associate member of the Pastel Society of America where her work has been featured in artists’ showcases. She’s exhibited in various venues including the Hunterdon Art Museum in Clinton, Prallsville Mills in Stockton, Ocean City Arts Center in Ocean City, N.J., West Windsor Arts in Princeton Junction, and The Center for Contemporary Art in Bedminster, N.J.
Her painting, “Judy’s Garden,” received an Honorable Mention at the Tewksbury Historical Society Art Show in 2023.
Last year, two of Rogers’s portfolio pieces were included in the 94th Juried Art Show at Phillips’ Mill. When she heard the submission period was open for this year’s Signature Image, she immediately got to work. She knew it was an honor as well as an opportunity to be selected.
“When I found out my painting was chosen as the Signature Image, it blew me away,” says Rogers. “It is such an honor. The Phillips’ Mill Juried Art Show is the pinnacle for artists in the area.”
The Signature Image is featured on all marketing materials for the annual juried art show including on banners, advertising, posters, postcards, social media, the Mill website, and on invitations for patron support, and the preview opening reception.
“It’s not only an honor, but also a dynamic opportunity to have your work, your style, seen by a very broad audience including some of the region’s top collectors,” says Dennis Riley, Chair of the 95th Juried Art Show. “The work is featured in the show and they often sell,” he adds.
The winning artist receives an honorarium of $400 and is also free to submit additional entries to the show to be juried, according to the guidelines of the show prospectus.
Previous years’ signature images have depicted the Mill in whimsical as well as traditional styles by artists including Jean Childs Buzgo, Patricia Allingham Carlson, Tom Gass, Joe Gyurcsak, John C. Mertz, Pam Miller, Francisco Silva, Luiz Villela, and Steve Zazenski. Collages, watercolors, oils and acrylics have all been chosen. Some of those images can be seen in the archives of past exhibitions on the Mill’s website at www.phillipsmill.org/art/art-exhibition-archives.
Phillips’ Mill Community Association is located just north of New Hope at 2619 River Road, New Hope 18938. For information, call 215-882-0582 or visit www.phillipsmill.org.
