Croatia Lollipops
My background facts are simple: I went to Skidmore where I studied both fine art and photography. I graduated with honors. I won awards as art director in advertising. Now that my children are grown, I am returning to my roots but testing my wings, experimenting with photography as fine art. And wow, I am loving the journey. My work can be seen in numerous galleries and collections.
I am a photography-based artist who significantly enhances and manipulates my original images. I investigate the details, depth, shapes, patterns, and graphic aspects of each original photograph and then take it apart and strip it down. My mandala candy series is from my travels through Sweet Shoppes in Croatia and Spain. These images are woven and repeated into a “mandala” or circle. Found in every culture and faith, a mandala is structured around a unifying center and represents both wholeness and the universe. These elements bring a new mood or movement to the structure and art experience as the eye travels hungrily across the surface.
Crosstown
Virginia Gott is a mixed-media artist whose work leans toward expressionism and abstraction and is frequently inspired by landscape elements such as oil jack pumps, utility poles and lines, and worn mailboxes along country roads. Political unrest has recently been added to her portfolio.
She was born in Preston, Idaho, and moved to the coastal communities of Southern California when she was three years old, where she studied illustration at California State University, Long Beach. She had previously studied drawing, painting, graphics, and printmaking at various colleges and universities in the area. As a result, her composition and conceptual vocabulary improved.
While attending college, Virginia worked in the graphic and print industries for various newspaper and magazine publications, such as Surfer Magazine, Motocross Magazine, Orange County Register Publications, and Coca-Cola. She later launched a small graphics business, which grew into an online web design and services business. Her background in printing and graphic design is evident in much of her work today.
In Tucson, Arizona, where she currently resides, Virginia’s artistic eye explores the patterns, colors, and light of the Sonoran desert.
Her works have been shown in both online and physical gallery exhibitions.
Noteworthy:
-Best in Show and First Place Awards, Focus Point Shape International Online Art Gallery
-Second Place – Southern Arizona Watercolor Guild, Toscana Art Gallery, Tucson, Arizona
-Fourth Place – Contemporary Art Gallery Online
-Bronze Award – Cameback Online Gallery
-Honorable Mentions and Exceptional Merit Awards – Wee Fine Art Gallery, Scottsdale, -Arizona, Southern Arizona Watercolor Guild
-Artist Reviews, “Virginia Gott: Painting Under a Hot Sonoran Sun” by J.E Raddatz, -“Virginia Gott in Transition” by O. G. Taylor
-Selected for inclusion, “Art Exhibeo Volume 1 – Selected Interviews and Essays on Art and Artists”
A moment in time, exploring light, texture, expressive lines, and colors that speak, are the building blocks behind my work.
My first box of crayons, given to me at a young age, was a box filled with colorful magic that begged to be explored. I explored all over the blank white walls of my bedroom. It was a grand, sweeping, colorful depiction of my small world.
This is a story that I revisit at the start of each new work. All the lines, marks, smudges, strokes, and wonderful unexpected occurrences are products of my growing story that began with a simple cardboard box of colored wax sticks.
Today, I am a mixed-media artist whose work leans toward expressionism and abstraction and is frequently inspired by landscape elements such as oil jack pumps, utility poles and lines, and worn mailboxes along country roads. My work frequently incorporates applied collage, image transfer, and mono- printing creating unexpected results. You never know what’s their unit it’s there.
Crucified
Nancy Jacques is an oil painter and photographer, who also uses mixed media and found objects in her artwork and has done so for 40 years. For the past 15 years, she has created themes of social and environmental justice, as well as figurative narrative, which reflects her varied career in and out of the art world. She taught art, became a systems counselor, and then took advanced ecological training to work on climate change issues. Nancy has realized that, for social or scientific data to be grasped, one must engage emotions for “in-sight.” So, she returned to art full-time, with one intention: through beauty and challenge, invite the heart; expand perception of our relationships to life and care for the planet.
Nancy’s artwork is held in private collections in Virginia, Kansas, and Arizona. She has exhibited work in the DC area, receiving Best in Show, and throughout Southern Arizona, where she has received two Honorable Mentions. Nancy is a member of the International Society of Experimental Artists, the Portrait Society of America, and the Southern Arizona Arts Guild. She has been a docent for the Tucson Museum of Art since 2015.
Nancy received her BFA degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, in 1976, with five years of advanced training at the Art League School, outside of Washington DC, beginning in 2009.
I am a contemporary artist working in oil and mixed media, including found objects. I create works expressing politics: social justice through figurative narrative or environmental justice related to climate change. I paint and draw formal figures and have photographed social situations as well as changing environments for 40 years. My work reflects my varied career in teaching art, counseling, writing, and heading environmental nonprofits. Experience has taught me that for social or scientific data or concepts to be grasped effectively, communicate by evoking emotions. Use familiar images – signifiers – in unusual ways. Challenge the viewer. Make it memorable.
Crystal Ball And Flower
Sihua Liu lives in Hanshou County in the Hunan Province of China. He has been practicing art for more than 20 years and has earned an MFA from Hunan Normal University. He has participated in numerous shows including the FiKVA Awards for Painters, the 16th ARC Salon Awards, American Art Awards, and the National Oil and Acrylic Painters’ Society. Best In Show awards won at GOGA Gallery’s Open competition and Gallery Ring’s People Show are among his accolades. He also participates in various art activities and is a member of the Portrait Society of America. He hopes that his artworks can bring beauty and a new visual experience to the viewers.
Shows
2023 The 2023 World Art Awards,1rd Place, Orientalism or Asian Subject,2ND highest score in the contest
2023 BEST IN SHOW EVENT, Diamond Award Of Excellence(highest award), Gallery Ring
2023 Art Competition Portrait,2nd Place Winner, Upward Gallery, Georgia, USA
2023 Circle Foundation for the Arts 2022-2023 Artist of the Year Competition, Honorable Mention
2022 Contemporary Fourth Edition, Boomer Gallery, London, UK
2022 The 10th Anniversary Exhibition of Hunan Province Oil Painting Society(2012-2022),
Acceptance Certificate, Li Zijian Art Museum, Changsha, China
2022 16th International ARC Salon Competition, People’s Choice Award, New Jersey, USA
2022 ArtGeminiPrize 2022 8th Edition Finalists Exhibition, Exhibition Finalist, Y2ARTS Gallery, Singapore
2022 International FiKVA Award For Painters, the Third Prize, Antwerp, Belgium
2022 1st Place Award, Artist Portfolio Magzine Issue 51
2022 Year End Art Masters 2022, Award of Excellence, TopArtAwards
2022 PEOPLE-October 2022,BEST IN SHOW(highest award) ,Gallery Ring
2022 “Black and White” online art show, Best of Show(highest award), Colors of Humanity Art Gallery
2022 IAA AWARD (International Achievement Award) in Oil Painting, 2nd place, Arizona, USA
2022 Exclusive Art Competition, Honorable Mention Award, Prague, Czechia
2022 Portrait Painting October 2022 Global Painting Conclave, Finalists Award
2022 12th Figurative Art Exhibition, Hon. Mention-Paint &Other Media, LightSpace &Time Online Art Gallery
2022 12th Figurative Art Exhibition, Special Recognition, LightSpace &Time Online Art Gallery
2022 The 2022 Art Competition“All Figurative/Portrait”, Gallery Choice, Contemporary Art Gallery Online, Delaware, USA
2021 7th Figures & Faces Art Exhibition, Exhibition Finalist, Fusion Art
2021 Fall Online International Exhibit 2021, Acceptance Certificate, National Oil & Acrylic Painters’ Society(NOAPS)
2021 The 2021 Art Competition“Open/No Theme”, Best in Show (highest award), Contemporary Art Gallery Online, Delaware, USA
2021 September 2021 ”Open” Art Exhibition, Honorable Mention, Helvetart online Art Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland
2021 PEOPLE-DECEMBER 2021,BEST IN SHOW(highest award) ,Gallery Ring
2021 Portraits 2021 Painting Exhibition and art award, Silver Award, Camelback Gallery, Arizona, USA
2021 2nd International Juried Art Competition ”Figurative”, Merit Prize Award, Los Angeles, USA
2021 The 2021 American Art Awards,4th Place-Tie, in Realism – Human
2020 The 2020 American Art Awards,3rd Place-Tie, Pastels/Chalk/Colored Pencil – Human Figure
2018 The 2018 American Art Awards,2nd Place, Portrait of someone not famous 2018 Fall Online International Exhibit 2018, Acceptance Certificate, National Oil & Acrylic Painters’ Society(NOAPS)
I remember when I was a child there was a poster of the crucifixion of Jesus hanging in my home. It had a profound impact on me. Christ bowed his head. On the left of the picture was a woman weeping and on the right was a man who pointed to Jesus. After studying art history in university, I learned that this was “Crucifixion” by the German painter Matthias Grunewald. It was engraved in my mind and I fell in love with art and fell in love with painting. When I continued to move forward with my art studies, I was diagnosed with a very serious disease and it caused me to rethink my life. I wanted to find a place for myself to live away from the suffering soul through art. Gradually, I fell in love with the art of the Pre-Raphaelites, especially the paintings of Rossetti. I aim to combine this style with modern aesthetics in my work and I hope to improve the quality of my work in the future.
Crystal Kaleidoscope 3
Sylvia Bandyke, Royal Oak, MI, USA, is largely a self-taught photographer, having taken studio and art history classes in college. She began her art career by displaying photo collages in ArtPrize, an independent international art competition in Grand Rapids, MI, from 2014 to 2018. Subsequently, she has been juried into more than 100 group exhibitions in 24 states and accepted into numerous online international exhibitions. An award-winning artist, she keeps an eye open for interesting views of a subject while looking for hidden beauty every day. Most recently, she was a caregiver to her elderly mother and was able to create some memorable, unique art as a result of this experience.
I prefer using the collage format to integrate associated images into a cohesive unit that is even more compelling because of the embedded story. Having been a playwright and technical writer, I am accustomed to delivering content with a message. So now, as a visual communicator, I continue to provide meaning via the structure of the collage format, wherein the four photos confirm, augment, or even contradict each other if warranted. I enjoy offering the richness that the multiplicity of images provides, along with the impact gained through their thoughtful positioning. Ultimately, I intend to have my work act as a doorway to the viewer’s own mental and emotional framework regarding the collection of images, perhaps finding their own very personal meaning in them.
Crystalize
Susan Bagrationoff is a professional surrealist whose body of work focuses on mythology and mysterious creatures. Faeries and folklore are the subjects of her creations using the beauty of nature for realistic reference. She creates her works with copious amounts of modeling paste, multiple layers of acrylic paint in brilliant hues, and metallic mediums to give a magickal ‘vibe’ from her creations.
Susan graduated with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2002 from Florida International University in Miami, Florida. In 2013, Susan started her art education studio, Artsy Fartsy Art Lessons, which relocated to Kent, WA in 2016. As an active member of her community, she designed the “Hands of Unity” mural in Downtown Kent. Susan is a member of ARTrails, which is an annual art show that takes place in Centralia, Washington in late September. In 2023, Susan displayed works in multiple exhibitions at Gallery B612 and The Fishbowl in Seattle. She also exhibits her art online through various organizations such as Biafarin, HMVC Gallery New York, and Arteom Gallery.
In a world of so much chaos, an escape into the realm of faeries brings peace and glamour into our dimension. Faeries have always held my fascination when I encounter them within our realm. I utilize the magic within my artistic soul to summon these creatures so that anyone can experience their charm and be inspired to believe in what they cannot see.
My work is conjured onto canvas using copious amounts of modeling paste and acrylic paints with multiple layers of various brushstrokes and the use of palette knife techniques. Brilliant colors and metallic hues are used to enable the faeries to emphasize their `vibe`, inspiring the viewer to discover the essence of these beings. The texture of their skin, hair, and backgrounds are vital to conveying the elemental qualities of each fae. I am perpetually discovering new ways to bring my faeries to life so they can gaze upon us humans as we admire their portraits.
Cuba Loves A Convertible
Vera Gierke is an artist who grew up in New Jersey, has lived in Michigan, Indiana, and Rhode Island, and seasonally on Nantucket. Living in Rhode Island, she engaged in a range of Continuing Education classes at the Rhode Island School of Design and worked with a few local artists. From having taken a variety of classes, Vera expanded her vision and found that the various areas of art interrelate, support, and broaden each other. She joined the Providence Art Club, where she explored a variety of art classes: acrylic, oil, watercolor, drawing, printmaking, photography, Photoshop, and collage. Through these classes, Vera discovered a fascination with paper collages and has made them her favorite form of art. Her work is not abstract; rather, she looks for a way to make an image or object different than what is expected, to add interest through the material used for the collage.
In speaking about her collages, Vera calls them A Fanciful View of a Realistic Subject. She describes them as more than what initially meets the eye.
“Something catches my eye, a scene, an image, a photo, and I begin to transform it in my mind into a collage, imagining how I would design the new work, what I would want to incorporate into it, and what I want the new art to express. The collage is made of pieces of paper, chosen not only for color and interest but also for the relevance and comment that it brings to the collage subject itself. I love taking one form of printed material and converting it into an entirely new image.”
I want my art to be appreciated up close just as much as from a distance. From a distance, the collages create a charming or interesting picture, but there’s more to it when fully appreciated up close. I invite the viewer in for a closer look, whereupon he sees how the pieces of paper relate to the collage and the subject of the art.
“I want the viewer to continue to explore, to discover more in the collage.
The art is intended to be viewed and appreciated up close as much as from a distance.”
Cup Of Gold
I am a 72-year-old retired man living in Boulder Colorado. I grew up in New England where I bought my first SLR camera at age 13 and that was the beginning of my lifelong passion for photography. I’ve spent most of my adult life in the West and my main focus is the depiction of the natural world.
Since childhood I’ve always spent most of my free time in nature; hiking, fishing, and traveling with my camera. Local flora and fauna and landscape have been my main subjects and I’ve covered many different ecosystems to get my images.
Curiosity
Katy Bishop is a contemporary abstract painter based in Los Angeles. Her gestural abstract artwork is characterized by bold, expressive, and vibrant use of color.
In addition, Katy is known for her use of alcohol ink in reverse painting on plexiglass and glass. This involves painting on the back of a clear surface, which allows the viewer to see the image in reverse. Whether painting on paper or on glass in reverse, Katy produces a range of vivid, translucent colors and creates unique, organic images.
These techniques add to the distinctiveness of Bishop’s artwork, creating a visual experience that is both intricate and harmonious. Her use of different materials and techniques highlights her ability to create striking and engaging pieces.
So far, in 2023,
• Katy had a very successful solo exhibition, VIVID INK, at TAG Gallery, Los Angeles.
• Her alcohol ink reverse painting on plexiglass, TERRA FIRMA VII, is part of the USA Exhibition at The Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, in June 2023.
• Global Painting Conclave awarded the Bronze Award in the competition Abstract Painting January 2023, for BEYOND, an alcohol ink reverse painting.
• SPRING ROSE, an alcohol ink reverse painting on plexiglass, is part of the in-person exhibition COLORS OF THE WORLD in Rome.
• TERRA FIRMA VIII and THE BOX are currently at Encino Terrace Gallery, Encino.
• GALA, HOPE, and DOWN IN THE VALLEY are showing at TAG Gallery in July.
Katy is a member of The Los Angeles Art Association, the California Art League, and the International Association of Art – USA.
She is represented in Los Angeles by TAG Gallery and by MEGA Gallery in Rome, Italy. Her art is held in private collections across the country.
I create my artwork to communicate feelings and ideas that cannot easily be expressed well in words. My gestural abstract artwork is characterized by bold, expressive strokes and vibrant use of color.
As I develop an artwork, I acknowledge that the control we all want to exert in our lives is often paired with uncontrollable growth and change, and emotional responses. The immense beauty in those emotions intrigues me. I also find beauty in abstract landscapes, and memories of times well-loved.
Much of my artwork is painted reverse on glass or plexiglass. Other artworks are on synthetic paper. Most often I use alcohol inks because they can be deep or transparent. They can be controlled and sometimes, they are totally uncontrolled. A challenge that I enjoy.
What I love about working in the abstract is that it comes from within, each stroke and color expressing the story I wish to tell.