Congratulations to Lopez artist Mike Rust for winning this year’s ninth annual Farmers’ Market Poster Contest.

Early in the year the community asked for poster entries from local artists who want to contribute their creative energy to the Farmer’s Market season. Each annual winner receives $400 cash, and the winning poster is displayed weekly in the village to advertise the market as well as show off the artist’s work. Posters are available for sale each week at the Farmers Market by Farmers’ Market Coordinator Virginia Palmer.

Many of you may recognize Rust’s colorful, smooth stylistic art in his poster. The Chamber of Commerce signs welcoming folks to Lopez, in the village, mark two other pieces of work from Rust. “The poster needed to be appealing, catch your eye, be pleasing and draw you in as if to say ‘follow me.’  I wanted to be authentic. When someone goes to the market, the poster is what people see.” Rust was a vendor at the market as he painted this picture, which took him one market day to complete. “The light and people were always changing. I captured what caught my eye with charcoal as the scene changed, and the picture was composed, then added paint, catching the colors before tents went down and people went home.” He ended his description “I wanted the poster to capture a “Let’s join the party’ feeling.” Stay tuned to know when Rust will be at the market this summer signing posters.

Big thank you to all of the artists this year who entered the contest. Voting was difficult as there were eight different artists’ posters. If you’re a local artist, mark your calendars for next winter, to create a beautiful expression of your Farmers’ Market poster art!

Remember to stop by this year’s Farmers’ Market each week. Support our local small business-economy each week, purchasing local produce, foods, art, and other products.  Farmers’ Market season is May 16 – Sept. 12.