2023 Version “Can You Find Me?” Banner Contest

It’s time for the 2023 version “Can You Find Me?” banner contest. The idea behind the game – I ask you to drive/walk around the City of Manassas and find my banners. Since 2015, Historic Manassas and the City of Manassas have held a contest for local artists to submit art. The winners have their art on banners attached to the light poles around the city streets. Since the beginning, I have been lucky enough to have at least one of my entries become a banner. As a result, each year, I have a contest to see who can find the banner.

In 2023, the City of Manassas selected two of my digital painting entries for this year’s banner contest. The illustrations show that the city put up the banners this past week. Driving and walking around the city, I found them and took pictures.

This Year’s Manassas Banner Contest

The two digital paintings I submitted, “Evening Sunset with Trees and Birds” and “Sunrise Silhouette with Duck,” are recent additions to my silhouette series of digital paintings.

It started as an experiential background for another painting. It has become fun to see how the different colors mix together when I use the Mixer Brush in Adobe Photoshop. I love creating bright backgrounds and seeing what works in front as a silhouette. The more colorful the background is, the better the subject definition. It’s the contrast that makes the silhouette painting work in my mind. Popular subjects include Trees, birds, animals, and people. As my mentor, Bob Ross, used to say, “Make up little stories to go with your paintings.” I combine those subjects with the background to tell a story.

Your assignment is to find the banners and email me at psmolens@pbsstudios.com. The first one to email me with the correct location gets a matted print of the banner suitable for framing. Good Luck!

When the contest is over, I will announce the winners. I’ll publish wide-angle images along with the location of the banners on the streets of the city of Manassas.

Helpful Hint

The Historic Manassas Visitor Center located in the Manassas Train Station building will have (I don’t know if they’re available yet) booklets showing the location of this year’s banners in the city.

MAG Art Show at Bull Run Library

Remember, I’m participating in the MAG Art Show at Bull Run Library. In the front lobby of the Bull Run Library in Manassas, VA, you can see a couple of my digital paintings as part of the art.

Fairfax Art Show

A reminder until the end of March, you can see four of my digital paintings in the Winter 2023 “A Tribute to NOVA Fine Artists” art show at the Stacy C. Sherwood Rotary Gallery inside the Fairfax Community Center. You can also see the art online at the Artist Coalition of Fairfax website.

Artists Coalition of Fairfax (artcofair.com)

PBS Studios

PBS Studios is a feature and content writer/photography/digital painting company that’s written and published over a hundred articles for newspapers, magazines, and online publications. I’ve also had many other photographs published as illustrations in commercial and textbook publications. As a digital photo painter, I’ve displayed my work in shops, libraries, galleries, restaurants, commercial buildings (including Manassas City Hall), and banners.

Check out the gallery section on my website, www.pbsstudios.com, to see digital photo paintings and other examples of my work. Please Note: All photographs and digital paintings are for sale, and you can purchase my digital paintings online through my Etsy Store. For more information, Please send me an email at psmolens@pbsstudios.com.