Barbara S. Groff PSA Signature, Master Pastelist Barbara is internationally known for her award-winning still life paintings and the ability to accomplish remarkable detail using the traditional pastel medium. After a successful career as a graphic designer, she turned full-time professional painter in 2002. A Connecticut native and largely self-educated fine artist, she has garnered numerous awards for her pastel paintings including the Dianne B. Bernhard Gold Medal and Silver Medal Awards in Pastel. She was featured in the Pastel Journal magazine as one of the top five winners overall in their 9th Annual Pastel 100 competition. She is a designated Master Pastelist and Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America, Inc.; an elected artist of the Allied Artists of America, Inc.; a signature member of the Connecticut Pastel Society and other prestigious organizations. Her work has been featured in American Art Collector, Pastel Journal, and the Portfolio section of the best selling French art magazine Pratique Des Arts. She has been listed in Who's Who in American Art since 2007. Awards and Exhibitions (prior five years) 2019 Outstanding Pastel Award - Bold Brush Painting Competition, October 2019 Bold Brush Fav 15% - October 2019 Kerry Heidenis Memorial Award - Connecticut Pastel Society 33rd Annual Member Exhibition Finalist - 2019 Richeson 75 Still Life On-line Exhibition Pastel Excellence Award - Academic Artists Association 69th Annual National Exhibition Piedmont Award - 27th Piedmont Annual Regional Art show Honorable Mention - Northeast Fine Arts Exhibition of Traditional Realism Sennelier Award - Central Mass Pastel Society National Exhibition Accepted - 47th Pastel Society of America Annual Exhibition “Enduring Brilliance”, National Arts Club, NY, NY (China Blues Selected by Dr. Louis A. Zona, Director of the Butler Institue of American Art, to be included in an all pastel exhibit at the museum) 2018 Pastel Frame Award - Academic Artists Association 68th Annual National Exhibition First Place in Pastels - Red Thread Network, Fifth Annual Art Show Bold Brush Competition Fav 15% -  June Bold Brush Competition Fav 15% - August Merit Award -  New Haven Paint & Clay Club Active members Exhibit Bold Brush Competition Fav 15% - September Pastel Society of America Award - Allied Artists of America 105th National Exhibition Piedmont Award - 26th Annual Regional Piedmont Art Show Art Spirit Foundation Dianne B. Bernhard Award - Renaissance in Pastels 25th National Exhibition Accepted Exhibitions - Arts of Tolland 15th Annual Juried Art Show; Lyme Art Association Summer Painting and Sculpture Show; Seventh Annual Juried Multimedia Exhibit, Arts Center East; Lyme Art Association, Deck the Walls Art Show Bold Brush Competition Fav 15% -December 2017 Dick Blick Art Materials Award - CT Pastel Society 31st Annual Member Exhibition First Place in Pastels - Red Thread Network, Fourth Annual Art Show Cheap Joe’s Art Supplies Award - Academic Artists Association 67th Annual National Exhibition Presidents Award - Renaissance in Pastels 24th National Exhibition Finalist - 2016/2017 Art Renewal Center International Salon Finalist - 2017 Richeson 75 Still Life On-line Exhibition Certificate of Merit - 109th Annual Thumb-box Exhibition, Salmagundi Club, NY Accepted Exhibitions - Arts of Tolland, CT Academy of Fine Arts, New Haven Paint & Clay Club 116th Annual Juried Exhibition, Purely Pastel, 25th Piedmont Art Show, Allied Artists of America NY, Salmagundi Member’s Centennial Exhibition 2016 First Place in Pastels - Red Thread Network, Third Annual Art Show Pat Scholz Memorial Award - Arts of Tolland 2016 Juried Art Show Best in Show - Academic Artists Association 66th Annual National Exhibition Second Place - Bill and Phyllis Baltaks Memorial Award - 2D or Not 2D 5th Annual Juried Exhibit Piedmont Award - 24th Annual Regional Piedmont Art show Merit Award - New Haven Paint & Clay Club, Active Members Exhibit 2016 Madison Art Society Award - Renaissance in Pastel 23rd National Exhibition Best in Show - On and Of Paper Redux Exhibition Dianne B. Bernhard Silver Medal Award in Pastel - Allied Artists of America, 103rd Annual Exhibition Flora B. Giffuni & Joseph V. Giffuni Memorial Award - Pastel Society of America 44th Annual Exhibition: Enduring Brilliance! Finalist - 2016 Richeson 75 Still Life On-line Exhibition 2015 CPS Board of Directors Award - CT Pastel Society 29th Annual Member Exhibition Dick Blick Award - Academic Artists Association 65th National Juried Exhibition Third Place Award - 12th Annual Arts of Tolland Juried Art Show, The Arts Center of Tolland, CT Dianne Bernhard Silver Medal Award for Pastel -  Salmagundi Club 131st Annual Members Exhibition Third Place Award - CB Realiste On-line competition, Montreal, Canada First Place Susan Shimer Memorial Award - Arts Center East, Of and On Paper Exhibition Invitational - Canton Museum of Fine Art Canton, Ohio. Exhibition celebrating 100 years of the Allied Artists of America. Allied Artists of America Award For Pastel - Allied Artists of America 102nd Annual Exhibition Selected Artists Group Show Award - New Haven Paint and Clay Club Two Person Show Arts of Tolland “Victoriana, Painted Ladies, and Lace” Accepted Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts 104th National Competition, Mystic, CT Accepted 43rd Pastel Society of America Annual Exhibition “Enduring Brilliance”, National Arts Club, NY, NY (Nature’s Weaver Selected by the Director of the Butler Institute of American Art to be included in an all pastel exhibit at the museum) Selected Articles/Publications 2016 - 40 Maitres du Pastel, published by Pratique Des Arts, France 2012 - Pratique Des Arts, Special All Pastel Issue, December, two-page Feature Portfolio 2012 - Pastel Journal, Background Check by Anne Hevener, editor. October Issue 2011 - Best of Worldwide Abstract & Still Life Artists, featured artist (including front cover), Kennedy Publishing Gallery Representation Tilting at Windmills Gallery, https://tilting.galleriasites.com