The top five artists in each category were given awards in the 5th Annual Landscapes international online art exhibition. Below are the biographies and/or artist’s statements along with the artist’s websites or emails.
Please visit the 5th Annual Landscapes Art Exhibition Page and contact the artists directly for purchase inquiries or to see more of their work.
Congratulations again to all the winners and thank you for sharing your talent with us.
Best in Show
(Traditional)
Lessa Clayton
Best in Show
(Digital & Photography)
Barbara Mierau-Klein
Barbara Mierau-Klein is a digital artist recognized for her multi-layered, imaginative and colorful fine art images. A native of Germany, Barbara lives in the Washington, D.C. area but often travels the world as a passionate landscape and nature photographer since her teenage years.
Barbara discovered digital art several years ago and became so fascinated that it turned into a full-time pursuit. Much of Barbara’s work is highly stylized and focuses on beautiful moments and evocative moods across a wide range of subjects. The inspiration for her images comes from many sources, often her own nature photography, but also books, song lyrics, movies, and works of other artists, old masters as well as contemporary digital artists.
Barbara’s work has been exhibited at the Art League in Alexandria, Virginia, Circle Gallery in Annapolis, Maryland, Baumbach Gallery in Palm Springs, California, Heaven Art Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona, and the Orenda Gallery in Reno, Nevada. She was awarded an Honorable Mention in the 2019 International Photography Awards, IPA. She has had thirteen top-ten placements in online juried art competitions at the Light Space Time Art Gallery and Fusion Art Gallery over the past year and was featured in an Artist Showcase at Light Space Time Art Gallery in November 2018. Her work has also appeared regularly in Living the Photo Artistic Life Magazine and Fine Eye Magazine with a feature article on her work as a photographer and digital artist in August 2018.
Please visit Barbara’s website if you are interested in seeing more of her work.
2nd Place
(Traditional)
Nancy Romanovsky
Nancy, a native Arizonan, began oil painting at a very young age. She studied art at Arizona State University and privately with several artists and at the Scottsdale Artists’ School. In 2012, Nancy left her career in graphic design and marketing to pursue painting full time. Her paintings are held in corporate and private collections in the USA, Canada, Brazil, Hungary, and Italy. She is a Signature Member as well as a board member of Women Artists of the West. She is also a member of Arizona Plein Air Painters, Sonoran Art League, and Plein Air Washington Artists.
Please visit Nancy’s website if you are interested in seeing more of her work.
2nd Place
(Digital & Photography)
Lars Gesing
Inspiration is easy to find yet hard to translate in the American West.
Years ago, I left behind my life, my loved ones, my native Germany, for a fresh start in a foreign land that didn’t feel foreign to me. It was my life’s ultimate sacrifice up to that point.
For generations, finding a home in the American West has always been a journey of overcoming challenges, of hard work, of living with the elements, of self-invention, grit and determination. That willingness to sacrifice… for the love of the land… is the foundation of each of my artworks. Because it is my story, also.
During those initial days, my images lacked direction, just like my life. My existence fit in a suitcase and a sturdy backpack. But the more I felt the warm embrace of the early-morning’s first timid ray of light, the silence of space standing at a canyon’s rim, the sense of comfort in the dark gazing at the Milky Way’s arch, the more it clicked. I was home.
I started to understand that the connection that we feel to the natural world around us reaches far beyond time spent outside. It defines who we really are, what we really do, how we really feel. It gives us a sense of purpose. It’s an expression of our willingness to sacrifice to reveal our better selves, to not be held back, to inspire to overcome.
Now, my photographic pilgrimage is a timeless journey through iconic lands to create artworks that tell the story of finding home.
For more information on Lars and his work, please visit his website.
3rd Place
(Traditional)
Joe A. Oakes
Each painting is an emotional response to color… real or imagined but always felt.” All of us, in varying degrees, have become blind to the colors of our world. The mind dictates the color of things without true observation. Giving those colors back to each of us through painting is my goal. Taking the time to see the least obvious colors in everything is the start. Then I make those colors bigger, bolder and brighter so they become the star. That is the spark needed to awaken our desire to know color better and enjoy it in our everyday lives.
To see more of Joe’s work, you can visit his website.
3rd Place
(Digital & Photography)
Mal Keeble
Mal is an emerging professional photographer based on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. Mal is a communications and public relations professional and he has a passion for storytelling – whether that is through words or images. Mal applies this storytelling approach through his photography.
Mal specialises in landscape, adventure, event and action photography, and donates his time generously through volunteering his photography skills to pet rescue and community organisations.
Mal is a keen traveller, adventurer and hiker, a combination that fits perfectly with his pursuit of capturing landscape and wildlife images.
When asked about his approach to photography, Mal replied: “I take a minimal approach to my work and don’t get caught up in chasing the popular social media images or get stuck in the mumbo jumbo of photography jargon. I let my camera do the heavy lifting – I’m just transporting it to the right location and letting nature put on a show.”
Mal’s images have been featured by ABC Australia and in local newspapers. To learn more about Mal, please contact him via email.
4th Place
(Traditional)
Jackson Lee
Jackson was born in Hongkong and currently resides in Hongkong.
He studied art and design at Hongkong Polytechnic University. He has had 18 solo exhibitions in Hongkong, Japan, Kunming China, Hamburg Germany, Amsterdam Netherland , Seoul Korea , Tokyo Japan and 13 group participations in Hongkong, Taiwan and Singapore, among them the important show at Singapore involved 21 countries .
His works belongs to private collections in China, Germany, Netherland, USA, Canada, Singapore and Hongkong. He is a multi -award winning artist and a member of the ISAP and NOAPS .
To see more of Jackson’s work, please visit his website.
4th Place
(Digital & Photography)
Shelley Benjamin
Shelley Benjamin, a resident of southeast Florida, is an award winning digital artist.
She received a BS in Textile Design from Cornell University. After a career as a textile designer and weaver, she became interested in mixed media, and ultimately, photography.
Ms. Benjamin’s experimentation and involvement with digital photography began after she purchased her first DSLR camera. During the learning process, she joined an international group of digital artists. With the advanced training she was able to develop her skills, which has allowed her to transform her images to reflect her vision. The inspiration from the group opened up the possibilities of taking photos into a new realm.
She is motivated by the art she sees in museums and galleries. From the time she was young she has always been an avid museum visitor. Her background in weaving exposed her to the art of fine crafts and the masters in those fields.
Shelley uses her photos as the foundation for a digital painterly approach, utilizing modern technology to enhance and transform the original image. Drawing upon her textile design background, she imparts a tactile feeling to her work.
She is challenged and inspired by color, reflections, light, the changing seasons, nature and architectural elements. Shelley is always searching for the extraordinary visual imagery in very ordinary environments.
Ms. Benjamin states that her goal is to share the beauty around her and impart the uplifting feelings to the viewer that are the source of her inspiration.
Shelley Benjamin’s work has been exhibited in local and international competitions and in online galleries as well as being featured in national digital photo and print magazines.
To see more of Shelley’s work, please visit her website.
5th Place
(Traditional)
Anastasia Horwith
Lately I have been exploring the intricate relationship between the moments and images that come together and transport us to another place or time. Sometimes it is soft and whispered, like trying to recall a dream, and sometimes it is powerful and fierce like a cyclone, usually precipitated by an image or set of images. A flag to our soul, it signals – ‘this has meaning, the power to transcend, to make deep rooted connections’. Sometimes smooth and simple, sometimes complicated. Like the layers. Like the paint.
To see more of Anastasia’s work, please visit her website.
5th Place
(Digital & Photography)
Douglas Aja
Douglas Aja has been sculpting African wildlife since the late 1990s. Since that time he donates a portion of the sales proceeds to various conservation organizations as well as donates sculptures for fund raising events. Though he sculpts a variety of species, he specializes in the African elephant. Many elephants are known individuals from Amboseli National Park in Kenya. He has been a longtime supporter of Amboseli Trust for Elephants (ATE), ElephantVoices and The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (DSWT). Recently he has begun supporting Action for Cheetahs in Kenya (ACK) and Laikipia Wildlife Forum (LWF). Aja’s bronze sculptures are in the private collections of elephant researchers Cynthia Moss and Joyce Poole, wildlife cinematographer Martyn Colbeck, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, the Bennington Center for the Arts and NBA great and Basketball Hall of Famer Sam Jones.
Traveling to Africa for the first time in 1978, Doug took part in a wilderness education program with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). There he studied wilderness and mountaineering skills, outdoor leadership, minimum impact camping and Kenya’s culture. He continues to visit East Africa regularly to take photos, gather reference material and to further his knowledge and understanding of his subjects. He often backpacks on Mount Kenya, through Maasailand and has climbed Kilimanjaro.
To see more of Douglas’ work, please visit his website.
