A big thank you to both our LESS IS MORE | Limited Color Palette Juried Show Judges. They have difficult decisions to make. Score sheets will be used and artwork will be judged using a number system, rather than artist names. Judges will score based on the following 4 categories: Interpretation and clarity of the theme; Creativity and originality of the work; Quality of artistic composition; Overall design and overall impression.
JOE SAMBATARO
Master Artist Joe Sambataro is a well-established, award-winning artist with an international following. His paintings are widely sought by corporations, government agencies, and private collectors including portraits for entertainment stars, sports figures and government officials. A published biography titled “Painting Without Numbers” is currently available with a second book in the works.
You can spot his paintings in television shows like Blue Bloods (CBS, starring Tom Selleck), House Hunters and House Hunters International (HGTV) as well as movies such as Poms [STX Entertainment, 2019] starring Diane Keaton, and Insomnia [2002] and Conviction [2010] (Fox Searchlight Pictures) both starring Hilary Swank. Reproductions of his work are published by Home Interiors of Dallas and Bentley Licensing Group of California.
Sambataro is a Scholarship Graduate of the Layton School of Art with Master and academic degree studies through Marquette University and UMW. He was the Featured Artist for 31 years at Banks Fine Art (closed 2014) in Dallas. Born in Philadelphia, Sambataro has had studios in Pennsylvania, Maine, Wisconsin, Florida, Okinawa, but currently resides and works in Texas. He is proud to be a part of “The Cove” artists’ group of McKinney.
GWEN BELL
Gwen Bell is a self-taught painter with no formal art education, but that hasn’t stood in the way of 35 years of producing art in both the commercial and fine art realms. She has an innate ability to recognize good composition and the skill to produce highly marketable artwork. With a background in painting representational art, Gwen has found a new passion in the abstract. She believes every artist should strive to improve their skill and never think it has been mastered. There is always room for growth. The working process itself leads to greater experimentation and the passion that opens doors to true inspiration in her view.
“After being confined to the dictates of references for years, I find it stimulating and adventurous to start a painting in a certain direction only to ultimately have it take over and dictate how IT wants to be painted. It has allowed me to feel truly creative for the first time in my artistic career.”
-Gwen Bell
Gwen is excited to be a judge for the “Less Is More” Show. She believes that limiting the palette to 3 colors plus white automatically takes the artists out of their familiar boxes of preferred palettes and straight into a challenge of imagination, experimentation, inspiration and skill. She is looking forward to seeing where their infinitely creative minds take them.