Nature took top honors in the 2012 Spring Juried Art Show, with David Bienkowski and his painting “Arboreal Journey,” being awarded Best in Show.

“Nature inspires me,” Bienkowski wrote, “the brilliance of a flower, the tranquility of a field. I want to bring attention to what can be easily overlooked.”

Bienkowski paid particular attention to light in his work and to its potential to reinvent landscape.

Also earning first place in this year’s show, which was presented by the Carnegie Arts Center and the Turlock City Arts Commission, were John Karl Claes for his painting “Spectacle;” Rob G. Bearden with his photograph titled “Ole Cowboy;” Christine Johnson — who took both first and second in the sculpture category with “Sentinel” and “Harmony;” and James verDoorn in the Works on Paper category with “Rock Matrix.”

Claes’ work in the Acrylics and Oil Paintings category also highlighted nature.

“I have painted the agricultural landscape of the West for nearly twenty years,” Claes wrote. “It is here, in this western landscape, that I have matured as a painter, and it is this land that challenges and inspires me.”

Paying particular attention to color—how colors relate to one another and where they are placed in the composition—is a hallmark of Claes’ style and in “Spectacle” he created a real tour de force of complementary colors for a painting that celebrates the agricultural landscape to the fullest. Claes also received an honorable mention in Works on Paper for his charcoal drawing, “Building Spring.”

More than 175 entries were received and of this number 83 were selected for the exhibition. There are a total of 38 artists representing the following communities: Atwater, Berkeley, Ceres, Cressey, Manteca, Mariposa, Merced, Modesto, Newman, Patterson, Ripon, Stockton, Tracy, Turlock, Ventura and Waterford.

“We are extremely proud of our local artists who continue to be among the finest state-wide,” said Rebecca Phillips Abbott, executive director and curator for the Carnegie.

The Spring Juried Art Show and Sale is on display at the Carnegie Arts Center through June 10. The Center is located at 250 N. Broadway, Turlock, and is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. There is a suggested donation of $4 for members and $5 for nonmembers.