Visit the 6th Annual Landscapes Art Exhibition HERE.
Best in Show (Traditional) – Lisa Hewett – “Autumn Joy” – acrylic
As a child of faith, God’s creation always captivated Lisa Hewett, speaking to the wild within her. Thus, Lisa naturally expressed this love through her art, always seeking to capture the same God-inspired awe in her artwork that she experienced on her outdoor adventures. This passion for the wilderness and need for headlong adventure led to a life motto of Lisa and her twin brother: “Tell mom and dad we died happy!” By the grace of God, Lisa made it to adulthood in one piece, while still pursuing her art and wilderness adventures. Moreover, as she came to appreciate the fragility of life, Lisa developed a new motto: “Live to climb another day.” Thus, Lisa’s inspiration for her artwork is still founded in her love of the outdoors, but she uses her knowledge of the backcountry to safely plan adventures that still move the wild in her, while not endangering herself or others.
These experiences are the foundation of Lisa’s artwork: coupling her deep love of adventure and her wilderness skills with her own photography to capture views that speak to the majesty of God’s creation, with an emphasis on light, contrast, and her own artistic style. After taking dozens of photographs in the wild, Lisa uses them as references to create acrylic paintings that many describe as “rare, honest, and epic”. Additionally, Lisa’s technical expertise and love for people makes her a valued commissioned artist. She believes that every person and four-footed family member has a story in their souls that is reflected in their face. It is this essence that Lisa seeks to capture using modern representational methods.
Born in England, but raised in the heart of the Midwest in the United States, Lisa has never met a stranger in her life. This served her well during many years of teaching Visual Arts to youth and adults, after attending the University of Tulsa on a National Scholastics Art Scholarship for a BA in Fine Art and Education. Lisa built her classroom upon educated feedback, excellence, and fun; this created a classroom of state and national award-winning achievements from Lisa’s students, including Lisa winning Teacher of the Year. Furthermore, it led her to earn her MSED (Summa Cum Laude) in English Language Learners from Walden University.
No longer in education, Lisa is a professional artist in Colorado. Lisa has exhibited her work in Tulsa, Oklahoma and in Colorado Springs, CO. When she is not adventuring outdoors in pursuit of her next painting, or “doing life” with the youth she mentors, Lisa is making memories with her family and friends. Otherwise, she is in her studio breathing life into people, animals, and her beloved mountains with her pencils and paints.
One can find out more about Lisa, her work, and commissioned artwork, including contact information at her website www.lisahewettfineart.com, on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/LisaHewettArt, and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lisahewettfineart/.
Best in Show (Photography & Digital) – Pablo McLoud – “Winter Magic” – digital photography
The desire to live with purpose and passion motivates Pablo McLoud to seek unique opportunities to experience, learn, and grow. Along with that pursuit is the quest to be moved and inspired in an artistic sense, and to capture those moments ‘on film’ for their unique once-in-a-lifetime qualities. As an artist who has spent quite a bit of time in remote wilderness areas, he believes that untrammeled natural locations are those special places that fosters, nurtures, and enhances creativity. He feels that experiencing first-hand the wonders or our natural world trigger sparks of creativity that brings about growth and productivity in artistic expression. His desire is to explore and discover distinct and magical moments in natural surroundings, and to share those instants in photos that inspire, awaken, and stir the soul. He looks to have his photography evoke emotions within his audience that makes one feel, emote, and ponder. And, hopefully, by interacting with his photos the audience’s state of being is enhanced as they learn about the different facets of this special and unique geographic region.
Pablo’s website is www.pablophotography.com
Best in Show (3 Dimensional) – Brian Mark – “Welcome” – Picasso Marble
Biography: Born in Schenectady, New York, raised in Washington, D.C., Brian Mark has been intrigued by art of all kinds for most of his life. By the time he entered college, not knowing what he wanted to do, thought, and quickly abandoned, dentistry. Literature appealed to him and ultimately, Mark taught English literature at university.
While he was doing scholarly work on English literature, Mark began to feel a tug toward doing, not just intellectualizing about art. Mark’s first artistic foray was in woodworking. After a while, he could not shake the impact Dylan Thomas’ poem, “In My Craft or Sullen Art” had on him. Mark kept feeling he was doing craft, not art, and wanted more. A friend urged him to look seriously at stone sculpture as his art focus. Eventually, Brian Mark went to that sculpting class, and as he tells it: ‘As soon as I set foot in the studio and looked at the work the students were doing, I was hooked.’
That was 20 years ago. Mr. Mark has been joyfully doing stone sculpting from that date to now. Sculpting is something he simply cannot NOT do. It is a passion. He creates abstract sculptures in harder stone such as marble, calcite, onyx, and others. He does not strive to make statements with his art, but rather ‘tries to bring beauty into this world, and at the same time soothe his soul by fulfilling the creative process.’
His work has been seen in many art shows and looks forward to continuing his love/work in stone.
Artist Statement: Nature is raw. Art is practiced. Each stone has its own language and I work to understand that language. Some of the learning comes from striving to listen to what each stone is saying. Each has a color, a shape, and a hidden beauty. While valuing that uniqueness, I strive to let my imagination fly free, in order build upon nature’s creation: blending raw nature with understanding the language of this stone.
And, so begins the conversation between stone and sculptor. When a stone selects me, I cannot know what striations, hues, density, faults, lie under the surface. As I begin chiseling and grinding, the stone talks to me, saying, “I have this special colored line running through me: preserve it”. Or, “slightly shift the angle of this or that curve”. Or, “work with me: together we can bring forth that special surprise, that new beauty never before seen”.
The conversation continues until nature’s stone and my imagination marry and together say, “stop – our work is done”. For me that conversation must lead to a sculpture that has movement, movement, movement. That movement is stone brought to life in a way never before seen.
Brian’s website is www.brianmarksculptor.com
