Local artist’s design wins national recognition.

LUDINGTON – The commemorative poster for Ludington’s 2014 West Shore Art Fair won the overall best award in Sunshine Artist magazine’s 19^th Annual Show Poster Contest, earning it a place on the cover of the magazine’s May 2015 issue.

Known as “America’s premier show and festival publication,” Sunshine Artist (www.sunshineartist.com) is a national monthly magazine for artists that annually judges posters from art fairs across the country.

Speaking about the winning West Shore Art Fair poster, contest judge Alexander Whittenberg said: “It’s such an elegant piece, and absolutely a work of art in itself that I would frame and put on a wall. It’s a great use of design: the color, the layout, the shapes, the typeset. It’s all just elegant…, slick and well done. It’s taking something as organic as a beach scene with a sunset and calculates it into specific shapes, and I think that’s a great balance between calculated art and organic elements.”

The 2014 poster was designed by artist and Ludington resident Chris VanWyck, whose modernist, boldly-colored poster image was inspired by Lake Michigan and its dunes. VanWyck is an artist-in-residence for the Ludington Area Center for the Arts (LACA) who manages the West Shore Art Fair, and he is also designing the 2015 West Shore Art Fair poster to complement the 2014 poster.

“This award is an incredible honor for both the Ludington Area Center for the Arts and our city, as it literally puts Ludington on the map as a community contributing strong artistic talent,” said Corinn VanWyck, executive director of the Ludington Area Center for the Arts. “We can collectively take pride that a national artist magazine recognizes one of our own.”

The 18-inch x 24-inch limited-edition silkscreen print of the 2014 poster signed by the artist can be purchased at the LACA gift shop for $40 while supplies last, discounted from $75 in 2014. Collectors are encouraged to purchase the 2014 poster before it runs out and so they can create a collection with the 2015 poster that will soon be available.

The 2015 poster will be unveiled at the LACA Annual Meeting, Tuesday, June 16. Details will be forthcoming for this event open to members and the public.

VanWyck is an arts and culture advocate with more than 25 years of community engagement, both through his job as brand manager at Ciesa Design in Lansing, and as an artist in his own right. He is also an instructor of design at West Shore Community College and has taught at Michigan State University.

VanWyck recently won two gold ADDY Awards by the Mid-Michigan Creative Alliance for his design of the Lansing Board of Water & Light 2014 Chili Cook-off Poster and the Urban Air 2014 Announcement/Poster. His award-winning print design work is also evident as creator of the East Lansing Art Fair’s 50^thanniversary poster in 2013, which won best use of color in the 18th Annual Sunshine Artist Show Poster Contest. In addition to his brand designs appearing on businesses in Lansing, throughout Michigan and nationally, his art is seen in public spaces such as at ArtPrize 2012 with his “Be Still” stainless steel sculpture as a modern twist on the iconic Adirondack chair.

For more information about the 2015 West Shore Art Fair July 4-5 at Ludington’s City Park, visit ludingtonartscenter.org or call the LACA office at 231-845-2787.