News Flash...Second Place (UPDATED)

I Did It!!!!!


About 6:00 PM this evening Mr. Bryan Thompson, the Mayor of Brunswick, handed me a $250 check and a nice Certificate honoring my entry taking second place (The Heritage Award) in the Golden Isles Arts and Humanities Association's "Coastal Heritage Exhibit" running tonight through April 1st over at the historic Ritz Theater.

Needless to say that you could have tipped me over with a feather.

We're going out to celebrate and I'll have more to say later.

11:00 PM UPDATE...

It's later now, and we're home after having a few drinks down in "the village" and spending some time attempting to let what I've accomplished sink into my thick skull.

I am still in shock.

My little 16” x 20” unframed photo effort beat a marvelous watercolor painting in a 3'x4' frame that was for sale for over $4,000. My little Photoshopped photo beat all but one oil painting or photograph by artists that have spent years refining their craft.

You see, I've been a digital photographer and self proclaimed Photoshop expert for only about five years now, and the term “expert” is only loosely applied in self-edifying moments like NOW.

BUT...you know what?

I honestly believe that it was my writing--the background statement that I submitted with my entry--that moved me into a position to take second place in this art exhibit.

My composite photo was pretty good in my opinion, but it was my "mission statement" that got me across the finish line ahead of all but one of the other contestants.

Many artists took work that they had already completed and tried to coordinate it with a written message that tied it to coastal Georgia’s history. Some did in fact produce new original work based on this year’s Coastal Heritage Exhibit’s stated requirements, but their writing fell short in stating their message.

I, on the other hand, carefully reviewed the competition’s theme and produced my artwork and written message as a complete, unified package. I spent nearly 1/3 of my time writing and editing the theme description of my artwork, and I honestly believe that I have been rewarded for my extra efforts.

They said two pages—I gave them two FULL pages of words. Call me lucky or call me tenacious, you have no idea what this minor success means to me.

After my recent horrendous theater failures (what I like to call "political nightmares"), I was seriously considering going back to spending my time farting, belching, playing ancient Roman sailing tunes with my hands stuck in my armpits, all the while drinking beer, chewing on my #2 pencil erasers, watching “Girls Gone Wild” videos and carving lewd replicas of female body parts out of faded pieces of driftwood and construction debris.

Instead, now I'm recharging my camera battery and looking forward to firing up Adobe Photoshop in anticipation of the next competition.

Now would you smile and say "Cheese", please?

Click.....