MAT-SU—Judges selected artist John McOmber's work on the Nordic Ski Area from among the entries of 11 artists in this year's Matanuska-Susitna Borough poster contest.  

Posters are 20X30, printed on quality paper. Poster cost is $20 to help pay for the contest. The poster promotes a Borough priority project as well as a local artist. The work is framed and sent to the Juneau offices of our local Alaska Legislators as well as the D.C. offices of our Congressional delegation.

McOmber is awarded $1500 for his winning art. The Borough is given non-exclusive rights for the use of it.

McOmber is a veteran of the Marine Corps, the Army National Guard, and a former Fairbanks police officer who loves the rugged natural beauty of the Alaska wilderness. He worked as a jack of all trades—millright, carpenter, welder, commercial diver—but none of these professions could satisfy his creative spirit. He turned to painting.

In 1976 McOmber won people's choice for the Southeast Alaska Fair Art Exhibit. In 1988 he took first place in the Annual Juneau Art Festival. He left Alaska but returned in 2007 starting a new art studio with wife Laura, "Willows of Alaska," on Knik River Road near the Butte. His work is also on display at the Madd Matters Studio in Palmer.

Photos right: Artist John McOmber, comfortable in straw hat and overalls while painting, signs a few posters for framing at Madd Matters Gallery in Palmer. Photos/Patty Sullivan/MSB

For more information call Borough Public Affairs Director Patty Sullivan 907.355.0103.

The Borough poster is an annual poster contest, which serves two purposes:

• highlighting a local artist’s or photographer’s work
• promoting a Borough Assembly priority project

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