The Mountain Artists continue to discover artistic creativity in Teller and Park counties.  Without the Student Art Contest, youthful artists may not have the number of viewers the show brings every year.

This year’s Best of Show winner is Madelynn Rose Smith, a senior at Woodland Park High School. Titled “Panthers” the three-foot painting is the entrance to the high school with the panther as mascot.

“I have never painted such a large canvas,” Smith said. “I took two photos and painted the panther first.”

Fom the panther to the bricks on the building, Smith kept going until she had completed the image. 

“I used all cheap acrylic paints,” she said.

In the same contest, Smith won first place in 3-D design for the multi-colored work titled ‘’Cicada.” On a roll, Smith took first place in acrylics, third place in oil and honorable mention in drawing.

“Art is my favorite pastime; it’s my passion,” she said.

Smith showed her work at the juried Manitou Art Center Wunderkind show.    

In the fall, she plans to attend Pikes Peak State College and transfer to Northern Colorado University in Greeley after two years.

“Madelynn is an amazingly talented, hard working artist in the classroom,” said Amanda Wahl, Smith’s art teacher  “She was generous enough to gift her panther painting to the school.”

Woodland Park muralist Amy Spring judged the contest.

“Madelynn is fearless in her approach to creating her art,” Spring said. “Her best of show piece was out of her wheelhouse in that she hadn’t worked on such a large piece and she pulled it off like a pro. On top of this, she is an exceptional artist with a bright future ahead.”

Acknowledging the difficult of judging, Spring remarked on the quality of the art work submitted by the students.

“It’s a scary thing to do, to put your art out here, and that courage makes makes them all winners in my eyes,” Spring said.

In addition to Wahl, the participating teachers included Josh Davidson, Woodland Park Junior/Senior High; Leslie Gray, Merit Academy; Laura Klein, Cripple Creek/Victor School District; and Rebecca Larson, Colorado Springs Christian School in Woodland Park.

According to Beth Sterkel, public relations with Mountain Artists, there were 74 pieces of artwork entered by 36 students representing five public schools, one private school, and some home-schools.

The Woodland Park library co-hosted the show and provided gallery space for the exhibit last month. The Woodland Park Walmart provided gift cards for the entries by the area’s middle schoolers.