The top five artists in each category were given awards in the 3rd Still Life International Online Art Exhibition. Below are the biographies and/or artist’s statements along with the artist’s websites or emails.
To contact these artists directly for purchase inquiries or to see more of their work, please visit the 3rd Annual Still Life Art Exhibition page for contact information.
Congratulations again to all the winners and thank you for sharing your talent with us.
Best in Show (Traditional) – Nancie Quah – “Ancient Bell” – colored pencil
I’m Nancie Quah and I am a self-taught artist, born in Penang, Malaysia and grew up with a fervent interest in arts. I’ve always enjoyed drawing and painting ever since I was little, and my passion for arts has only grown over the years. I started off with punch arts, then rubber stamps were introduced to me. I was a former Magnolia Rubber Stamps (Sweden) Design Team, but to this day I still continue to work with the rubber stamps to create greeting cards because of my vast collection of the items.
I’m always keen to explore with a variety of mediums, but I find myself more comfortable with watercolour and coloured pencils. I prefer drawing pictures of animals and flowers over human portraits. I’ve decided to dedicate myself to art challenges for the past two years, as I try to hone my skills in the meantime – completing one challenge takes me one step closer to my lifetime achievement as a professional artist.
To learn more about Nancie and to see more of her work, please visit her website.
Best in Show (Photography & Digital) – Stephen Robeck – “Story of the World” – pigment print
Stephen Robeck’s interest in photography began at age ten with a small darkroom in a bathroom he shared with his sister. His father worked for Time Life so there were always lots of books about photography in the house. Life Magazine Photographer W. Eugene Smith was an early hero.
After college he moved to New York in search of creative work, first in commercial photography and then in film and television production. In the mid-1980s he co-founded a creative marketing agency which eventually moved to Los Angeles. Work was intense until the early 2000s, but making photographs remained a focus, especially during long backpacking adventures in the High Sierra.
For the past twenty-plus years Stephen has devoted himself to fine art photography and to mastering the modern tools and techniques of digital image creation and print presentation. He has learned from great teachers like John Paul Caponigro, Mac Holbert and Mary Virginia Swanson. He first began exhibiting his work in Santa Barbara galleries, and more recently in art fairs across the country.
Stephen’s early work was focused on landscapes, but he has long been attracted to the abstract forms, colors and textures that abound in nature. He enjoys creating abstract images whose origins may not be readily clear.
All of Stephen’s work is printed on lightly textured fine-art paper and sealed by hand with an archival print varnish. Prints are laminated to board and float mounted in artist-made frames without glass. Many viewers say his photographs look like paintings.
To learn more about Stephen or to see more of his work please visit his website.
2nd Place (Traditional) – Dai Gang – “Punishment” – oil on linen
In 1987, Dai Gang graduated from the Department of Literature and Art of Shanghai, Jiaotong University, majoring in Western Painting under Master Zhang Kaixian. In 2015, he graduated from the Mural Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts under Master Cheng Hou Yimin. In 2016, he graduated from the oil painting department of the Moscow Surikov Academy of Fine Arts. In 2017, he was awarded the artist achievement certificate and honorary citizen title and the bronze medal by the French city of Lille.
To learn more about Dai Gang or to see more of his work, he can be reached via his Email.
2nd Place (Photography & Digital) – Judy Belleci – “sandals and silver …” – photography & digital
Judy’s art starts with a camera instead of paint and brushes. Her gallery of work is eclectic, colorful, and beyond creative. Her art career began in retirement and she has blossomed with the creative possibilities discovered in the digital realm. Judy makes her home in rural Oregon and finds great inspiration in her natural surroundings. Some of her favorites are flowers, rocks, trees, and creeks and streams. Judy’s heart and creativity are her way of expressing harmony and a sense of the divine order of our universe.
To learn more about Judy or to see more of her work, please visit her website.
3rd Place (Traditional) – Jon Bøe Paulsen – “It is served” – oil on canvas
I consider myself as an artist belonging to the group of new realists where the human being is looked upon in a new light and painted strongly figurative. The meaning of Clair Obscure, in Italian chiaroscuro, is light in the darkness. Classical paintings of that order last longer in the eye of the viewer because of their restricted use of colour. That is some of the reasons why I work with plain and few earth colours and very seldom part from that rule unless it is absolutely necessary.
To be able to convey a story with one single painting. I’ve never forgot the rules and it was useable in oil, watercolour and charcoal as well. One of them was: “Don’t be too tough with you pencil when you draw. Not too much information when you catch the line. Do not underestimate your audience”. Your art must go in a direction where the photograph cannot follow!
“Jon Bøe Paulsen is a prize winning painter from Norway whose neo-realist portraits have gained him international exposure over the last four decades. His introduction into the art world was through theatre workshops in high school, where he learned the art of self-control. In the same manner, Paulsen paints to convey single narratives with strong characters, using minimal light and a restricted colour palette to let his subject last longer in the eye of the viewer.” Singulart. France
To learn more about Jon or to see more of his work, please visit his website.
3rd Place (Photography & Digital) – Denis Chamberlin – “Train Wheels” – analog photography
Artist Biography: Denis Chamberlin is a San Francisco Bay Area base photographer. While most of his work is of California subjects, he also travels and shoots in Europe and throughout the Americas. The beauty in simple objects is often overlooked. It may be found in a lost shoe in an abandoned building or in spare train wheels and axles arrayed in a railroad yard. it is the artist-photographer’s role to capture these visions and present them to the viewer.
Artist Statement: On the wall of the office in my first job out of college, there was a copy of Ansel Adams’ Half Dome. I knew then what I really wanted. I bought my first real camera and started shooting. When I go out, it is not with a specific agenda. I see things, usually stuff that people might not pay much attention. Like train wheels in a railroad yard or a lost shoe on a sidewalk, or maybe a white fireplug under a streetlight on a foggy night. I find beauty in these things and want others to see.
To learn more about Denis or to see more of his work, he can be reached via his Email.
4th Place (Traditional) – Cher Pruys – “In the Bag” – acrylic on paper
Cher Pruys was born in Regina. Over the years she lived in many places including Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Fort Frances, settling into her present home in Devlin, on the banks of the Rainy River with her husband Mark, 4 dogs and 2 cats.
By age three, Cher was seldom found without a drawing tool in hand. She worked in pencil, charcoal and ink over the years, until, she picked up a paintbrush at the age of 35. Beginning with oil paints, she found her chosen mediums in acrylic, water color and gouache.
Although self-taught, her dedication and talent has seen her work juried into 99 International exhibits, as well as exhibits in numerous non juried shows. She has won 75 awards for her work at the International Juried Exhibits.
To learn more about Cher or to see more of her work, please visit her website.
4th Place (Photography & Digital) – John H Diephouse – “Calla Lilly #4” – photography
I am a primarily self-taught photographer who migrated from film to digital photography about fifteen years ago. After retiring from a professional management career, I have more actively explored the technical and creative sides of this media.
I am attracted to a wide variety of subjects ranging from natural landscapes, botanicals and wildlife to images that provide either abstract expression or social commentary. I am interested in sharing images that evoke a story of some kind. Images may be simply documentary, reflect a sense of time and place, or resonate on a more abstract level of color, shape or form. Others provoke an indefinable question that does not readily yield answers without further study and reflection.
Most often I am drawn back to images created while wandering through the back roads and small towns of the upper Midwest. These images of architecture, commerce and social life often reflect a mixture of nostalgia and a changing set of forces that shape life in the heartlands.
I have exhibited widely and have earned recognition in local, regional, and national exhibitions. My photographs are also included in several corporate and private collections.
To learn more about John or to see more of his work, he can be reached via his Email.
5th Place (Traditional) – Linda McCord – “11 Stems” – acrylic on canvas
Working with still life as a subject gives me the option of arranging lighting from numerous sources. Strong lighting is the thrust of my work. I prefer to build up many layers of transparent color to achieve depth and a glow to my paintings. Light and shadow, repetition of shapes and contrast are all an important part of my work. I love color, but value is more important to me. Glass, mirrors, metal, I love just about any surface that reflects. Clear, colored, and cut glass is all about shapes, sparkle, reflections, and transparency. It’s exciting to layer one transparent color on top of another creating a third color and an interesting new shape. The distorted reflections due to the curve of the glass or metal create a repeated shape that is not obvious, and that is part of the excitement about working with these surfaces.
To learn more about Linda and to see more of her work, please visit her website.
5th Place (Photography & Digital) – Lynne Deutch – “White Pumpkin” – photography
The works of Lynne Deutch are studies in spontaneity and spirit. Lynne would consider herself an artist and travel photographer. Her photography focuses on capturing life as it might appear every day; rugged, demanding, and joyful. Her travels have taken her to Kenya, Burma, the Galapagos Islands, and even Antarctica, each trip cementing her love of exploration and fascination with humanity. The adventurous travel that Lynne enjoys leads to images that are often unusual but always fascinating. Her subjects range from personal studies of villagers, vast penguin colonies, and chaotic city life to the abstract compositions of remote sea ice. When photographing people, she captures her subjects in their most natural state; sometimes working, other times playing. When her subjects are not human, Lynne accentuates the most interesting aspects, focusing on texture and composition. Lynne creates images that are unique by portraying her subjects in ways that people might not imagine.
To learn more about Lynne or to see more of her work, please visit her website.
