As last years winner of Best of Show, featured artist William Shelton thought long, hard and even lost some sleep while deciding which entry to award this year 'Best of Show' at the Coos Art Museum's 11th Annual Maritime Art Exhibition. "By the day before the opening, I had it narrowed down to 4 entries. Then I couldn't sleep that night. So I went out at daybreak the next morning and completed a plein air painting. That helped to clear my mind and I came back, only to choose another set of finalists. Boy, this is such a great show that it was very difficult to choose just one!"

Mother Pacific,
by William Shelton.

William Shelton shares his philosophy behind choosing 'Best of Show'.

Shelton, a resident of Little River, CA located in the heart of scenic coastal Mendocino, Shelton is pleased to be part of ushering in a new phase of CAM's Annual Maritime Art Exhibition. As an active member of ASMA and a Mendocino based plein air artists league, Shelton is delighted to see the 'Plein Air/Wet Paint' event included in the Maritime Art Exhibition activities. "To be outside in the elements, painting the day, is one of the biggest challenges for an artist - but it leads us to some of our biggest rewards".