Find out more about our Judge Derek Gundy and his art:

Important Dates:

Registration: April 24 – April 26. Gallery open 11 am to 4 pm. All art must be received by Sunday, April 26.

Show runs May 1 – May 31, 2026

Reception: May 9, 2026 1 pm to 3 pm
Pick up: May 29 – June 31

Gallery open Friday and Saturday 10 am to 4 pm and Sunday 1 pm to 4 pm. If you need to drop off artwork or pick up artwork outside of the stated dates, please call for an appointment.

Registration Fee

A $10 non-refundable entry fee for each entry (limit two).

 

Exhibition

Helen Norris Open Art Show

55th Annual Exhibition – May 2026

Reception: May 9, 2026, 1pm to 3pm

The Helen Norris Open Art Show (named for the first Gallery Manager, Helen Norris, after she retired in 1995) has been an annual event since the opening of the Sidney Art Gallery in the early years of the Sidney Museum and Arts Association (1972).  The importance of The Helen Norris Open Art Show is three fold:

  • to provide a venue for artists to compete/exhibit/sell their art work
  • to bring together an outstanding exhibit of art brought by the overwhelming amount of participants
  • to teach the beginning artist as well as the public about what goes into creating, presenting, and selling fine art.

The show hosts a different judge every year. This year the Judge is Derek Gundy. During the artists’ reception the judge critiques the first place winners, giving the reasons for picking these particular pieces thereby educating those present in what to look for in fine art.   The judge will have their own show at the Sidney Gallery in June of 2027.

First Place Winners of each category in the Helen Norris Open Art Show are invited to the Winners’ Circle in January of the next year.

The judge will award First, Second, Third Place and Honorable Mention ribbons in each category as well as pick the Judge’s Choice. There will also be a People’s Choice based on votes made through the month of June.

 

Click on the tab for the entries in each category

3d Mixed Media

1st Place

Sean Farbolin – Fawn 

2nd Place

Nancy Adams – Floral Egret

3rd Place

Cheryl Buckel – Under the Sea

Honorable Mention

David Lewis – Family Tree

Also Showing

Yulia Drozdova – The Joy of Being

Yulia Drozdova – Eyes to Eyes Honesty 

Nancy Adams – Seascape

Matt Corry – Emotions in Color

Matt Corry – Angels Among Us

Jessica Parker – Four Seasons Dragon Tree

Rebecca Westeren – Solomon’s Seal

Dan Spence – Give Blood

Oil/Acrylic

1st Place

Phoebe Siemion – On The Edge

2nd Place

Christine Hella Thompson – Dandelions

3rd Place

Sharon Stritzel – Howe Farm 1920, 1945

Honorable Mention

Elena Caldier – Buddy

Also Showing

Elisabetta Brogi – The Bible’s Readers
Elisabetta Brogi – At The Library
Amy Burnett – Great Grandma’sTrail
Amy Burnett – TheListener’s Daughter
Roy Carr – Wild Donkeys in Arizona Desert
Roy Carr – Fog at Sand Point
Katherine Damalas – Old Fisherman
Connie Dandurand – Seabeck Seagulls
Connie Dandurand – Homestead of Great Memories
Elena Caldier – Smokey
Anne Peters – Great Horned Owl
Anne Peters – Timberwolf
Mary Hart – Middle of Storm
Mary Hart – Nighttime Seattle
Phoebe Siemion – The Falls
Janette Stiles – Cocoa and Sonny
Sharon Stritzel – Kestner Homestead
Christine Hella Thompson – Robin in Apple Tree
Dawnell Vaughn – Eclipse
Rebecca Westeren – Sky Dance #3
Paul Williams – Stillness
Paul Williams – Ancient Places

 

 

Watercolor

1st Place

Goran Hodzic – Old  Dock

2d Place

Elissa Whittleton – Going Coastal

3rd Place

Jennifer Hovik – Little Rabbit

Honorable Mention

Rachel Brown – Trees of Winter

Also Showing

Sherry Beck – Amore
Sherry Beck – Cala Lilies in Spring
Jennifer Hovik – Lake’s Edge
Goran Hodzic – Long Lake
Gavin Rich – Chickadee

 

Mixed Media

1st Place

Dawnell Vaughn – Good Vibrations

2d Place

arolyn Hassall – Here, or Where?

3rd Place

Cheryl Buckel – Embacing Chaos

Honorable Mention

Maria Amburn –  Rescued and Transformed

Also Showing

Maria Amburn – Purple Fantasy
Rachel Brown – Hairy Woodpecker and Chick
Carolyn Hassall – Anglesey Mountains
Rachel Brown – Trees in Abstract
Mallory Jackson – Happy Trio
Buddy Parrent – Oura
Kim Spence – Open Doors
Sharon Stritzel – In the Garden of Peace
V. Dolan Tierney – La Primavera 

 

 

Photography

1st Place

Glen Wilkerson – Beached Fishing Boat

2nd Place

E. Faithe Lester – Moonset Over the Olympics

3rd Place

Kaylee Sleight – When the Light Settles

Honorable Mention

Nick Whittleton – Moody Backwater

Also Showing

Russell Hauenstein – Mt. Adams & Mt. St. Helens
Kelly Hughes – Nobody Puts Earl in a Corner
J. Louis King – Grand Rapids
J. Louis King – Ghost Train
Cynthia Schaum – Paradise
Cynthia Schaum – Nature’s Beauty
Kaylee Sleight – Old Snowy Mountain
Nick Whittleton – Stormchaser

 

Drawing

1st Place

Mary McInnis – Leftovers

2nd Place

Janette Stiles –  Tusayan, Legend of the South Rim

3rd Place

Elissa Whittleton – Matriarch

Honorable Mention

Buddy Parrent – Angel

Also Showing

Mary McInnis – Riverbanks
Shelly Wilkerson – Emotional Support Fluff
Shelly Wilkerson – Two Good Eggs

Phoebe Siemion – On the Edge – Oil/Acrylic

Dawnell Vaughn – Good Vibrations

Meet the Artists in the

Helen Norris Open Art Show