HOUSTON, Feb. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Hunting PLC announced that 121 artists have been selected to move on to the final round of judging in the 2016 Hunting Art Prize in which participants vie for a $50,000 award.  The competition, which is celebrating its 36^th anniversary, is the largest prize in the category of painting and drawing available in North America. 

The panel of jurors that narrowed the submissions to the final 121 participants will reconvene in April for the second phase of the two-tiered jury process.  The 2016 winner will be announced at the Hunting Art Prize gala on April 30. 

The artists, who come from more than 40 cities and towns throughout the state of Texas, are: 

• Stella Alesi, Austin
• Anne Allen, Fort Worth
• Charis Ammon, Houston
• Helen Bailey, McKinney
• David Baker, San Antonio
• Vera Barnett, Grandview
• Awadh Baryoum, Dallas
• Carol Benson, Fort Worth
• David Bjurstrom, Austin
• Daniel Blagg, Fort Worth
• Martin Bouska, Richmond
• Natasha Bowdoin, Houston
• Jeremy Burks, Austin
• Qindeel Butt, Katy
• Shannon Cannings, Lubbock
• Patricia Chambers, Bellville
• Cheryle Chapline, Woodway
• Michelle Chen-Dubose, Houston
• Felipe Contreras, Houston
• Valerie Corwin, Flower Mound
• Judith Cottrell, Houston
• Terry Crum, Keller
• Julie De Vries, Houston
• Gaylon Dingler, Tyler
• Hillary Dohoney, Fort Worth
• Andrew Drewes, El Paso
• Joey Fauerso, San Antonio
• Elizabeth Ferran, Dallas
• Geoffrey Ford, Austin
• Ginger Fox, Dallas
• Daryl Gannon, Spring
• Tanja Gant, Plano
• Ron Garcia, Denton
• Justin Garcia, Houston
• Dan Gilroy, Blanco
• Alberto Godoy, Houston
• Arnold Gonzales, Corpus Christi
• JT Grant, Fort Worth
• David Gray, Houston
• David Griffin, Rockdale
• John Grimball, Cedar Park
• Alyssa Hawkins, Fort Worth
• Jose Hernandez, Pharr
• Lee Albert Hill, Fort Worth
• Karen Hillier, Bryan
• Duke Horn, Dallas
• Jimmy Houston, Houston
• Julie Howard, Alvin
• Gerard Huber, Dallas
• Naomi Hughes, Lockhart
• James Humphrey, Grapevine
• Cedric Ingram, Katy
• Alison Jardine, Plano
• Jeff Jennings, Houston
• Bethany Johnson, Austin
• James W. Johnson, Lubbock
• Natalie Jones, Houston
• Rance Jones, Richardson
• Angela Kallus, Fort Worth
• Suzanne Kelley Clark, Dallas
• Robert Kinsell, Fort Davis
• Andrew Kochie, Arlington
• Padaric Kolander, Houston
• Jamie Kovach, Austin
• Charles Mary Kubricht, Marfa
• Jesse Lane, The Woodlands
• Cynthia Lewis, Fort Worth
• Michael Longhofer, Amarillo
• Layla Luna, Fort Worth
• Nathan Madrid, Denton
• Katie Maratta, Austin
• Linda Martin, Cedar Hill
• Ken Mazzu, Houston
• Pat McEnery, Houston
• Mary McGovern, San Antonio
• Robert Melton, Austin
• Tudor Mitroi, Houston
• Kelly Morris, Wylie
• Aaron Morrison, San Antonio
• Devin Nelson, Houston
• Cap Pannell, Dallas
• Samantha Persons, Houston
• Cameron Petri, Austin
• Katherine Pickens, San Antonio
• Page Piland, Houston
• Katie Rose Pipkin, Austin
• Erika Pochybova, Lubbock
• Jonathan Revett, Amarillo
• Drew Riley, Austin
• Tim Roberts, Fort Davis
• Kyle Rogers, Houston
• Joyce Rosner, Austin
• Robert Ruello, Houston
• Tim Schneider, Houston
• Natasha Schulze, Fort Worth
• David Schweitzer, Fort Worth
• Beth Secor, Houston
• Caroline Sharpless, Houston
• Reid Sharpless, Houston
• Daniel Sims, Frisco
• John Slaby, Houston
• David Smith, Sugar Land
• Madelyn Sneed, Corinth
• Janet Sopp-Sims, Lakeway
• Andrew Stalder, Bedford
• Todd Stevens, Cypress
• Jennye Stubblefield, San Antonio
• William Sullivan, Austin
• John Swanger, Austin
• Paul Tassone, McKinney
• Cherry Taylor, Austin
• Benjamin Terry, Denton
• Anabel Toribio, San Antonio
• Juan Vela, Corpus Christi
• Camille Warmington, Houston
• Neal Wilson, San Marcos
• Sam Wilson, San Antonio
• Wendy Layne Windrich, Conroe
• Ashley Wright, Fort Worth
• Xiaoyuan Xian, Houston
• Kenneth Zeromski, Dallas

At a separate event following the gala to announce the winner, Hunting PLC will present a charitable contribution on behalf of the competition – and the artists who have entered to participate – to Patriot PAWS. 

This is the third consecutive year the nonprofit has been selected as the Hunting Art Prize charity.  The organization is dedicated to inspiring and restoring the physical and emotional independence of disabled American veterans and others with mobile disabilities.

Hunting PLC moved the Hunting Art Prize to Houston in 2006 after a quarter century in the United Kingdom, where it emerged as one of Great Britain's top art awards.  It is open to artists throughout Texas who are at least 18 years of age. 

For more information on the prize, visit www.huntingartprize.com. 

About the Hunting Art Prize
The Hunting Art Prize was established in 1981 and emerged as one of the United Kingdom's leading art competitions before relocating to Houston in 2006. Sponsored by the international oil services company Hunting PLC, it has become a premier U.S. competition open to Texas artists who are 18 years of age or older. Its $50,000 prize is historically the most generous annual award in North America for painting and drawing, and has helped to build the reputations, raise the profiles, and support the careers of distinguished artists. For further information, visit www.huntingartprize.com.

About Hunting PLC
Hunting PLC is an international energy services provider to the world's leading upstream oil and gas companies. Established in 1874, it is a premium listed public company traded on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: HTG.L). The Company maintains a corporate office in Houston and is headquartered in London. As well as in the United Kingdom, the Company has principal operations in Canada, China, Indonesia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States of America.

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SOURCE Hunting PLC