Quick Draw Champion

​Ellicott City Plein Air continued:
"Greens for Lunch"
Saturday morning was the Quick Draw competition. We all (62 artists) got two hours to complete a painting, then we all gathered for an immediate judging and prizes. I decided to paint the festive umbrellas outside the little cafes. It was a fabulous sunny morning, I had a nice shady spot, a large iced coffee, and a big macaroon dipped in chocolate to inspire me. I wasn't worried about the time constraints, since I was using pastels. Life was good! After the closing buzzer, we all packed up and took our entries to be juried. I was quite surprised to see most of the juried artists had already framed their pieces! Next year. There was a big crowd, and a number of pieces were sold in the first 20 minutes, including mine. There were some very good artist there.
Then, much to my astonishment, I won first prize! The judge said he liked it because it was so happy and friendly. The nice lady who bought it was even more pleased than I was.