Wrangell will be represented at this year’s Alaska State Fair in Palmer. Local artist, Terree Pino, was named the grand champion in the oil painting division at the Southeast Alaska State Fair.
Pino’s painting will move on to compete with other works from around the state at the fair in Palmer. Pino has been competing regionally in the Southeast fair just as long as she’s been painting, three years.
“So I told my husband last year, let’s go to the Haines fair and check it out. I want to check out my competition, I want to see what everybody is doing, and what I need to do to raise the bar to get that championship,” Pino said. “So we flew up there this year and lo and behold, the championship was already waiting for me.”
Pino’s painting, which took her just one day to complete, depicts a fall scene off the Stikine River.
“It was one of the little inlets going up to the river. We had actually gone up the river Fourth of July last year, and I took a lot of pictures. I found this little cove that was really pretty. I took artist license and made it into a fall scene so I could change the colors,” she said.
Finishing the painting in one sitting was no fluke, says Pino. It’s part of her process.
“When I do it, I really like to do it from start to finish. And, I really get into the zone. While I’m in the zone, I get real passionate about it. I can see it in my mind, but I have to get it out there before I lose it,” Pino said.
Her work will be on display at the Palmer fair through Sept. 5.
