Artist says finalist status means she's come far

Marie Caviness normally does not photograph animals. She prefers landscapes.

But it was during a visit to her sister Linda Tunick's Arizona home that she saw her dog Zeke, a Catahoula mix, sitting outside. She wanted to capture the image.

"I thought the expression on his face and the way his head was posed told, 'I don't have anyone to play with,'" she said.

The Round Lake resident entered the Postcard Art Competition and Exhibition this year after seeing the postcard entries displayed two years ago. She said she enjoyed the challenge.

"It's hard to judge whether I submit would be up to this caliber," she said.

"I will like to see how my work compares to others who enter the competition."

She chose the image of Zeke as one of her three entries particularly because she thought it would make a cute postcard.

Coming to the museum to look at all the entries, Caviness said she only saw two of three images she entered.

It was then she learned from a staff member she was named a finalist.

"I about fell over," she said.

Caviness said she has worked over the years to improve her photography by taking classes and joining an area camera club. She said being named a finalist shows she can take a good photograph.

"What this type of recognition says to me is I've come a long way," she said.

-- Abby Scalf