An image conceived and executed by Sue Owens of Roper was selected to be the symbol of the sixth-annual Pickin’ on the Pamlico fundraiser.

Pickin’, to be held Aug. 20 at Washington’s Festival Park, will raise money for the nonprofit Washington Harbor District Alliance.

The WHDA promotes downtown Washington through events like Pickin’ and the Music in the Streets festival, which unfolds every third Friday from April through October in downtown Washington.

Owens’ oil-and-wax creation, titled “A Man and Steamed Crabs,” was unveiled Tuesday afternoon at a reception in an old storefront on Washington’s Market Street.

The icon will appear on a commemorative poster for Pickin’, and it could be featured on other promotional items, said Virginia Finnerty, chairwoman of the August event’s organizing committee.

“I had a lot of fun painting it,” said Owens, adding she displays some of her artwork at the Inner Banks Artisans’ Center on Washington’s Main Street.

“I love blue crabs,” the Washington County resident explained. “It was a very easy subject.”

Owens fashioned her angular art with oil paints, cold wax and a pallete knife.

“There’s no brush involved,” the retired public-school teacher said. “I learned this technique at a workshop.”

Owens competed with two other artists — Kay Woolard and Marty Smythe — for the honor of having her painting designated the symbol of Pickin’.

WHDA plans to make this first-year art competition a recurring part of Pickin’ on the Pamlico, Finnerty related.

The artists will retain the rights to sell their original works, but the publishing rights will be controlled by WHDA, she related.

Pickin’ on the Pamlico will host entertainers who have yet to be announced.

One thing that was known Wednesday was the happening would extend to ticketholders the privilege of feasting on crabs, shrimp, chicken and more. A cash bar will be part of the package, according to Beth Byrd, executive director of WHDA.

Tickets cost $40 each for now, and $45 apiece a couple of weeks before Pickin’, Byrd said.

Pickin’ began as a way to celebrate the Crabs on the Move initiative, which resulted in painted crab sculptures being displayed around Washington, she shared.

“They needed some kind of vehicle to announce, have a party over the whole program and how successful it was,” Byrd said.

Pickin’ has evolved into one of WHDA’s two fundraisers, she said. The other fundraiser is the Pirates Beach Music Festival.

“Everything else we do is just to bring people downtown,” Byrd pointed out.

People who wish to become members of WHDA may do so for a minimum donation of $25, said Garleen Woolard, a member of the organization’s board.

The entity now has 52 members, Woolard said.