Winning artwork a symbol of Danville woman's hope

Janie Herndon knows what it’s like to suffer for one’s art. Her pain led to triumph when she won the People’s Choice Award for her dream-like oil painting, “Out of the Darkness,” during the Danville Art League’s Members Only Show 2008 reception Sunday.
Her piece was one of 59 works over
the last two years from 32 local artists
displayed at American National Bank on Main Street downtown, where attendees cast their vote for the award.
“I would rather have this award more than any judge could give because my peers gave it to me,” Herndon, chairman of the event, said during an interview after winning the prize.
The show was presented by the Danville Art League and American National Bank and Trust Co.
Herndon was in physical pain from stage 3 kidney cancer when she painted “Out of the Darkness,” her oil piece depicting a white horse in water surrounded by night. The horse symbolizes hope springing from dark, troubling times, said Herndon, who was diagnosed two years ago and is undergoing chemotherapy.
She painted it in 10 hours and the effort helped her forget her suffering.
Art lovers like Rachel Dabney, a cancer survivor, said she could relate to Herndon’s work.
“I’ve been there and it’s personally meaningful to me,” Dabney said of the painting.
In a separate contest judged by Carlisle School art teacher Liz Wolchko, Danville artist Lee Farley snagged the Best in Show prize for his mixed-media piece, “Tall Chimney.” In it, he uses pen and ink, clayboard and air-brushing to photographic effect, portraying a chimney and a tree jutting into the sky.
Farley said his work is a depiction of a photograph his son took while on a trip several years ago.
During a telephone interview Sunday, Wolchko praised “Tall Chimney” for its “visual pun,” with the chimney and tree getting simultaneously taller. She also liked Farley’s juxtaposition of the manmade versus the organic.
Wolchko said she looked for artists who stretched the boundaries of their respective media.
“I was looking for someone who pushed the limits of the material instead of doing something straightforward,” she said.
Farley said using clayboard enabled him to capture the details — wood grain, knots, brick, mortar — easily.
Cathy Farley, Lee’s wife and president of the Danville Art League, said the event was a judge’s show in which league members entered and displayed their pieces and a judge picked the winners. The Danville Art League was formed in 1980 and has about 60 members, Lee Farley said.
Other winners were:
n Jane Carter, first place for “Women of the Bazaar”
n Phil Ramsey, second place for “Changes in Latitude”
n Bob Jones, third place for “Jazz”
Judges Select prizes went to Nancy Compton, Robert York, Ann Campbell, and Norma Martin, while Nancy Diciolla and Karen Shelton each garnered Honorable Mention.
Among the other artists showcased were former Virginia state senator Charles Hawkins, R.W. Cocke, Pat Ewalt, Deborah Graham, Vicki Lin and Carol Van Deventer.
The works will be displayed at American National Bank through April 18.
• Contact John R. Crane at jcrane@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7987.