The top five artists in each category were given awards in the 6th Annual Landscapes 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 6th Annual Landscapes Exhibition page for contact information.
Congratulations again to all the winners and thank you for sharing your talent with us.
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
2nd Place (Traditional) – Michael Stoyanov – “Grand Canyon Panorama” – oil on canvas
I was born in 1949 in Bulgaria, where I graduated with a degree in Fine Art from the University of Veliko Tarnovo. I have participated in dozens of national and international art exhibitions and worked as the curator of a regional art gallery in Bulgaria for ten years.
In 1995, I received United States citizenship based on my artistic merits and professional achievements and made Arizona my new home. For the past twenty years l has been working together with my wife Ekaterina, who is also an artist, in our own gallery in Carefree, Arizona.
I find inspiration in the nature and people of the American Southwest and I love painting my native countryside and townscapes from family trips to other European countries. My subject matter and technique are versatile; what is most important to me is to create a harmony of color, shape, and mood in my paintings.
Michael’s website is www.stoyanovfineart.com
2nd Place (Photography & Digital) – Joanne Chase-Mattillo – “Crescent Moon above Sand” – photomontage
The beauty of nature surrounding Los Angeles was the impetus for Joanne’s entrance into the field of photography. In 2000, she graduated from California State University, Los Angeles with a Masters of Fine Art (MFA). During these years, Joanne continued as a tenured teacher for Los Angeles Unified School District. She is now a full-time artist.
Joanne began her life’s journey in Ann Arbor, Michigan and graduated with a BA from Eastern Michigan University. Though the natural settings of Michigan are also quite beautiful, Joanne always dreamed of living in California. It was when she found the Santa Monica Mountains on her many hiking trails that Joanne learned to absolutely love Los Angeles. The fact that many locals in Los Angeles, including the San Fernando Valley where Joanne has lived for so many years have been used in Hollywood movies is also been an important part of my art influencing the creation of two photo books – A MONTH OF COOL DAYS AND HOT NIGHTS and INTERSPECIES DATING IN LOS ANGELES 3D.
In addition to color and black and white film, I now shoot digitally, employ the techniques of infrared imaging and enjoy creating 3D anaglyphs to be viewed with red/blue lenses. I also combine images of nature with movie stills, mannequins, or human subjects in photo montages, with occasional text included in these artworks. I have also experimented with video art. I have exhibited throughout California, nationally, in Korea, France and England.
Joanne’s website is www.joannechasemattillo.com
2nd Place (3 Dimensional) – Cameron Scott – “View from my Decking” – lime wood relief carving
The carvings are about the artist’s responses to places and objects he has seen and the ideas for the carvings come from the juxtaposition of these objects and places seen in the then and now. The images are easily recognized, but what is the story they are telling? What is the relationship between these various images from different places, different times? How can an image from a Pictish decorated stone be transposed to become a giant chalk figure on a Somerset hillside?
His work owes a great debt to early Renaissance painters who often used different rooms / areas / views through windows in the same picture to tell different aspects of their story and perhaps an escape route to another life, but also to the Surrealist artists who have allowed his imagination to roam freely. Thus, a range of places can exist within the one picture – Kintore, Scotland, his home village, his time in Italy, his present home.
Cameron openly admits to being overawed and inspired by all he sees around him – the clouds, the fields disappearing into the distance, a spider’s web, however the problem is often what to leave out of a carving, when his desire is to cram in all that visual excitement he has experienced and wants to share.
The carving style, due to his varied artistic route, has developed outside the sculptural mainstream using, perhaps the out of fashion sculptural practice going back over the centuries of stories told in relief.
Cameron works in lime wood, which is a beautiful wood to work in being easy to work, yet holds its edge so well. It also turns a lovely warm colour over the years. This was a wood of choice for European medieval carvers such as the brilliant carver, Grinling Gibbons.
Cameron’s website is www.cameronscottart.co.uk
3rd Place (Traditional) – Susan Allen – “Lowcountry Reflection” – oil on canvas
Biography: Susan Allen is an accomplished musician with a Bachelor’s Degree in French Horn Performance from The Cleveland Institute of Music. She was a member of the Canton and Youngstown Symphonies and was Principal Horn of the Suburban Symphony Orchestra of Beachwood, Ohio, for twenty-seven years. Ms. Allen retired from music in 2012 to actively pursue her interests in the studio arts. She has studied drawing, watercolor, and oil painting with many artists in the Cleveland area, including the late John Carlson, Dino Massaroni, and John A. Sargent, III. She is passionate about capturing in oil the many beautiful and varied landscapes that she photographs while traveling. Ms. Allen lives in Bratenahl, Ohio, with her husband, Tom, and their Golden Retriever, Piper.
Artist Statement: “For over 45 years I was a classical musician, working within the parameters of a very controlled artistic environment. Now as an oil painter, I am free to explore and experience a boundless vista of opportunities. I see myself moving away from the studied approach to a more interpretive and expressive style of painting. I have focused my artistic endeavors in capturing the ever-changing beauty of the South Carolina Lowcountry.”
Susan’s website is http://susanallenart.com
3rd Place (Photography & Digital) – Paul M. Murray – “Antarctica Occluded” – color photography
My photography remains a work in progress. I am very much a visual traveler who interacts with people, places, objects, and ideas on a variety of levels through several planes of vision that intersect with time and space. At those intersections, I may capture a moment and portray it with my implied perspective. The journeys to those intersections afford the opportunity to see and perhaps become intrigued by what I am experiencing.
Often the storytelling aspects of the photographic art form capture my attention and motivate a series of related images. Although my perspective is predominantly reality-based, I acknowledge not only the subjective nature of what I portray in my images but an interest in pursuing at times more abstract images.
To the extent that my images enrich the experience and vision of others, I feel that I have achieved a way of communicating that is unique to me as a photographer.
Paul’s website is www.harmonicthreads.com
3rd Place (3 Dimensional) – Steven Iseman – “Seeds” – poly lactic acid applied in layers with material printers
Artist’s Biography: Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, the artist is helping to pioneer a new computer-aided art medium. His works are forged with material printers and are the alchemical product of time, technology and persistence.
The artist has innovated styles of design, including sculptural images – part photograph and part sculpture. Using material printers and digital manipulations of photographs, images are built up in layers – 50 to 250 of them – and crafted with colours, gaps and contours to create sculptural images that are rich with tone and detail. The photographs are the artist’s, as are the rendering techniques. Different compounds and infusions are used to get the right look, texture and form.
Each work is an original, and the result of meticulous planning, digital creation and up to 250 hours of carefully monitored printing. It is a labour of love.
Artist Statement: Look closer. There is an extra dimension to my work. I love to design three-dimensional images with volume and depth. Perhaps not a born artist, art has found me through technology, and a humble interest has blossomed into passion. I have journeyed here along many routes and through many disciplines – law, science, computers, and fatherhood – each experience shapes my perspective in ways that can be contrasting, unifying and unique. I look for odd angles, discordant images and contrasting media. I bring this spirit to my designs. I live and work in Toronto, Canada.
Steven’s website is http://stevenisemanart.ca
4th Place (Traditional) – Bhawna Seth – “Awakening” – oil
Throughout my life, I have been enamored by natural beauty around me, which has inspired my work. I feel most content and relaxed in nature surrounded by beautiful trees and flowers, or listening to the ocean waves.
I primarily create using the oil medium on canvas, but I love experimenting using acrylic on canvas and glass surfaces as well. I would describe my style as realistic and someone who loves vibrant colors.
Currently, I work at my home studio and enjoy painting from the colorful compositions in photos I have taken while traveling or get inspired by other works of art.
Bhawna’s website is http://artbybhawnaseth.com
4th Place (Photography & Digital) – Bonnie Moreland – “Downing Creek Falls Oregon” – photography
Maj. Moreland retired from the U.S. Army after 20 years of service. Five years ago, she became interested in photography. After buying her first SLR Canon camera, she took a basic photography class at the local community college. Living in the state of Oregon offers multiple opportunities for landscape photography, no matter the time of year there is always something to photograph.
Bonnie can be reached via her email.
5th Place (Traditional) – Lessa Clayton – “Hell’s Canyon” – oil on canvas
I am an avid lover of the scenery around Oregon. I capture it in my photo realistic oil paintings. Hiking and painting are equally enjoyable to me.
Lessa’s website is lessaclayton@gmail.com
5th Place (Photography & Digital) – Shelley Benjamin – “In the Valley” – digital photography
Shelley Benjamin, a resident of southeast Florida, is an award winning digital artist. She has been published in “Living the Photo Artistic Life”, Somerset Digital Studio and “Awake Photography magazines. Her work has received Best in Show and top 10 in the “Fusion Art” online gallery and top 10, Honorable, Mention and Special Merit in the Light Space and Time Gallery. She has exhibited in group shows at the Louvre, the Cornell Museum, and Grounds for Sculpture.
Shelley 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. Her 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.
Shelley 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. She 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 inspired by color, reflections, light, the changing seasons, nature and architectural elements. Shelley is always searching for extraordinary visual imagery in very ordinary environments.
Shelley 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’s web and social media sites:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/benshell/
https://www.instagram.com/sbenja823/
https://www.artmajeur.com/en/sbenja823/artworks
