Members' Art Challenge - April 17, 2026
"Idioms!"
Every year, JRAL creates a themed art challenge for members; members share their art based on the theme of the challenge with the other members at one of our meetings, with a guest artist to critique and comment on the art presented.
This year's challenge theme is "Idioms!" Each artist can put their own spin on the theme. Our guest critiquer for the challenge will be Doug Mock, and artists will present their art at our April 17, 2026 meeting. It's interesting and fun to see how each artist interprets the theme and how the guest critiquer evaluates the work of art.
What is an Idiom?
According to Google AI, an idiom "is a phrase or expression whose meaning cannot be understood from the literal meaning of its individual words; instead, it has a figurative or symbolic meaning that is widely recognized within a specific language, culture, or community." Think "it's raining cats and dogs," "hit the nail on the head," "let the cat out of the bag," and sure to be interesting..."costs an arm and a leg." That's only a start to what you can work with!
This year's challenge theme is "Idioms!" Each artist can put their own spin on the theme. Our guest critiquer for the challenge will be Doug Mock, and artists will present their art at our April 17, 2026 meeting. It's interesting and fun to see how each artist interprets the theme and how the guest critiquer evaluates the work of art.
What is an Idiom?
According to Google AI, an idiom "is a phrase or expression whose meaning cannot be understood from the literal meaning of its individual words; instead, it has a figurative or symbolic meaning that is widely recognized within a specific language, culture, or community." Think "it's raining cats and dogs," "hit the nail on the head," "let the cat out of the bag," and sure to be interesting..."costs an arm and a leg." That's only a start to what you can work with!
Guest Critiquer
Our guest critiquer for the challenge is Doug Mock. Doug was our guest critiquer for our 2022 art challenge and is back by popular demand; he was also our judge for our Annual Members Judged Exhibit in 2023. Doug regularly judges exhibitions and consistently evaluates and critiques art based upon the artists understanding of and utilization of strong composition. Special recognition of Doug's work was awarded earlier this year when his painting "Splish Splash" won first place and is now displayed on the side of a Bay Transit bus. This competition, Art in Transit, celebrates the nonprofit work of both the RAL Art Center and Bay Transit. Find out more about Doug at his website DougMockFineArt.com.
Our guest critiquer for the challenge is Doug Mock. Doug was our guest critiquer for our 2022 art challenge and is back by popular demand; he was also our judge for our Annual Members Judged Exhibit in 2023. Doug regularly judges exhibitions and consistently evaluates and critiques art based upon the artists understanding of and utilization of strong composition. Special recognition of Doug's work was awarded earlier this year when his painting "Splish Splash" won first place and is now displayed on the side of a Bay Transit bus. This competition, Art in Transit, celebrates the nonprofit work of both the RAL Art Center and Bay Transit. Find out more about Doug at his website DougMockFineArt.com.
To view our challenges from previous years, click the button below