You be the judge.

Members of the general public will decide which pieces of art win awards in the Summer Challenge: Media Wars competition, which will be held this summer at the Lancaster County Art Association (LCAA), 149 Precision Ave., Strasburg. There is no charge for admission.

Gallery director Carol Herr calls the challenge "a progressive exhibit" because it gets bigger as the summer goes on. "Every two weeks there will be new things to see," she said.

Summer Challenge: Media Wars will run from Sunday, June 29, to Friday, Sept. 5. The opening reception will be held June 29 from 1 to 4 p.m. Beach Day at the LCAA is scheduled for Sunday, July 13, from 1 to 4 p.m. Visitors are encouraged to wear beach attire. There will be tropical punch, cupcakes, and fruit. Ice Cream Day at the LCAA will be held Sunday, Aug. 10, from 1 to 4 p.m. The closing reception, including the presentation of awards, is slated for Sept. 5 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Visitors can vote for award winners by buying ballots, which will also serve as an entry into a drawing to be held at the end of the show. The person with the winning ticket will receive Herr's painting "Shade Tree Garden Shed." Herr estimated it took 35 hours to complete the oil-on-linen work. "We're always looking for ways to fundraise," she said. "I thought if we were going to charge for the ballots, it would be nice to give away the painting at the end."

An award-winning artist, Herr is a native of the Buck in East Drumore Township. She graduated from the York Academy of Art and studied at the Art Students League in New York City. Her contemporary impressionistic landscape paintings have appeared in local and national exhibits.

In addition to choosing a favorite artist, voters will select their favorite medium from three categories: oil and acrylic; watermedia, which includes watercolor, tempera, gouache, or mixed media made up of water-based media; and other media and 3D, which includes pastel, drawing, encaustics, printmaking, sculptures, ceramics, wood, jewelry, and glass.

There will be five chances for artists to bring their works to the LCAA, with each occasion having a theme. Thursday, July 10, to Sunday, July 13, will be for waterworks, subjects that depict water in any form. On Thursday, July 24, to Sunday, July 27, the LCAA will accept "red-hot subjects," meaning an item that includes the color red or things that are hot. The theme for Thursday, Aug. 7, to Sunday, Aug. 10, is "field of dreams"; works should feature fields and farms or baseball-related subjects. Anything goes for the final drop-off dates on Thursday, Aug. 21, to Sunday, Aug. 24.

This competition is open to artists 17 years of age and older. There is a small entry fee per piece. LCAA membership is not required. Artists decide if their works are for sale. LCAA receives a 30% commission for each sale. Works must conform to LCAA exhibition guidelines and must be 55 inches or smaller in any direction.

Artists can enter between one and four pieces at each drop-off theme. Works may be picked up Saturday, Sept. 6; Sunday, Sept. 7; and Thursday, Sept. 11, through Sunday, Sept. 14.

There will also be a Children and Teen Edition with the theme "What I Did This Summer!" and two age groups: 7 to 12 and 13 to 16. Drop-offs may be made during regular LCAA hours, Thursdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. The entry deadline is Aug. 24. There will also be awards presented in the these categories.

Go to http://www.lcaaonline.org for more information about the Lancaster County Art Association.

"It's a beautiful facility to encourage the arts," said LCAA publicity chair Patricia Keller. "We always have beautiful works of art here, and we like for people to come out and appreciate what's here. It's a golden treasure."