The top five artists in each category were given awards in the 7th 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 7th 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) – John Shimmin – “Colorado River at the Grand Canyon” – watercolor
I studied art at Kent State university, mentored by Internationally acclaimed artist Larry Quackenbush. Through his teaching I learned watercolor, taking a total of five first places in painting my sophomore year a second place in the portfolio competition, and a third in drawing. After Mr. Quackenbush had passed away I transferred to Michigan State University where I majored in Anthropology and Art History where I graduated Magna Cum Laude.
As a graduate student in field archaeology, I branched out and designed museum displays and illustrations for both the Mackinac Island State Park and private museums. As part of my graduate work, I authored an academic paper detailing Pythagoras’ method of designing Greek Doric Temples and presented it at Archaeological Institute of America convention in San Antonio, Texas.
After graduation I moved to Colorado where I worked for Gold Fields Mining Corporation drawing maps and charts. During those years at Gold Fields, I taught night classes in computer applications at Red Rocks CC and Denver University.
After leaving Gold Fields, I worked for US West designing interactive applications. At one of US West’s art competition, I took first place, and again, second place the successive year. In August 2018, I received Honorable Mention for a watercolor at Fusion Art’s International 3rd Annual “Artist’s Choice” competition (fusionartps.com).
To see more of his work, John can be reached via his Email.
Best in Show (Photography & Digital) – Daniel Forster – “Bright Autumn” – photography
Daniel is a Fine Art Photographer based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He took the long road to finding his home in Colorado. He grew up in California and Oregon. Then he raised a family in Arizona and Texas, and finally making his home in Colorado.
In grade school, he spent many afternoons exploring the old growth redwood forests and creeks in California. In high school, you could find him in the forests, beaches or mountains of Oregon. He has always had a drive and passion to explore and experience the natural world around us.
Daniel also has a passion to create. That passion has led him down many creative journeys. A few years ago, he picked up a digital camera and hasn’t looked back. The merging his passion to create and exploring nature has become a perfect outlet for creating and sharing his passion with others.
To see more of his work, visit Daniel’s website.
Best in Show (3 Dimensional) – Karen Russo – “Listen to My Heart” – ceramic sculpture
Karen Russo is a figurative sculptor who lives and works in the lush green foothills of western Oregon. She chooses clay as her primary medium because of its malleability, capacity for transformation, and direct connection to the earth.
As Karen sculpts, she allows each piece to unfold intuitively. Similar to a stone sculptor, she begins by carving away from a solid block. The beauty of working in clay, is that she can continuously manipulate the form. It is a lively dance of adding and subtracting the material. The sculpture is then hollowed, compressed and reassembled. She uses underglazes, casein, and acrylic to lay imagery onto the surface. Her color palette echoes the places that inspire her; from the ocean to the forests, the desert to the mountains, of the extraordinary Pacific Northwest.
“In clay and paint, I work with paradoxical themes embodied in the maternal archetype and landscape. The resulting sculptures depict women that seem to originate from different geographical origins, but all of which explore the tensions of the feminine experience: strength and contemplation, hope and despair, vulnerability and resiliency. Through these ancestors so evocative of the precious earth from which they were formed, I hope to express an eternal optimism for the human spirit in this beautiful and turbulent world.”
To see more of her work, visit Karen’s website.
2nd Place (Traditional) – Bruno – “Pacific Paradise” – acrylic
Bruno has been drawing in pencil and pen and ink, working in pastels, watercolours and acrylics for many years producing portraits and landscapes – relatively small pieces not very detailed. This is his first attempt at a larger more detailed work, and the best thing he has made so far. He sincerely hopes the viewer will obtain as much pleasure looking at Pacific Paradise as he does.
To see more of Bruno’s work, he can be reached via his Email.
2nd Place (Photography & Digital) – Shannon Donovan – “Forest Roots” – photography
Shannon Donovan is a multidisciplinary artist working in the areas of photography, installation, moving image and painting. Her work typically involves concepts of time, history and mortality. She received a diploma in photography from Holland College and a BFA from NSCAD University. Recent exhibitions include InFocus Photo Exhibition, Dalhousie Art Gallery, Black Cat Showroom, Nocturne, Argyle Fine Art, Eyelevel Gallery, CBU Art Gallery and Corridor Gallery. Shannon has lived and exhibited in cities across Canada and her work may be found in private collections internationally. She currently resides in Nova Scotia.
Artist Statement: My current work examines aspects of history, mortality and time. My process is highly intuitive and informed by daily life, changing landscape and the solitude of nature. Unique architecture, landscapes and surreal imagery are represented through photography, moving image and installation.
To see more of Shannon’s work, visit her website or visit her Instagram.
3rd Place (Traditional) – Sylvia Mallory – “Mountain Air” – acrylic/mixed media
Sylvia Mallory is a Massachusetts-based painter working primarily in acrylics. She began drawing in the mid-2000s while continuing her career as an editor in college textbook publishing. She began painting in earnest in 2015, first in watercolor under the guidance of water media artist Nan Rumpf. She moved into acrylics in 2018, and acrylics quickly became her favored medium.
Sylvia has studied painting with several distinguished Massachusetts artists, including Emily Passman, Maris Platais, Amy Roberts, Peter Bain, and Kathy DeFlice-Secor. Her favorite subject matter includes landscapes, human figures, and floral still lifes. When needing a break from painting, she turns to collage, having studied that form with collage artist Alexandra Sheldon.
Sylvia’s work has hung in various juried shows, including exhibitions at the Rockport Art Association, Gallery Twist, and the Grace Chapel Art Gallery. Her work has also been featured in juried and group shows in other local venues. A graduate of Tufts University, Sylvia resides in a northwest suburb of Boston.
To see more of Sylvia’s work, she can be reached via her Email.
3rd Place (Photography & Digital) – Garret Demarest – “Blushing Red” – digital photography
These photographic art images were developed by Garret Demarest of Palm Springs, CA. Garret’s work has evolved over time. His initial interest was in capturing images of objects but soon turned to people, animals, plants, and flowers as he grew in his studies in psychology and human development as well as his personal connection to animals.
His early focus was on “spontaneous portraiture” capturing personalities of people either unaware or just being themselves. He was mentored by New York industrial designer and artist, Robert G. Newbauer who encouraged him to capture his “decisive moment” in his originality and storytelling. He was also inspired by viewing the photography of Walker Evans as well as National Geographic photographers. Garret’s later career as an organizational development consultant, took him around the world providing the opportunity to photograph people and places that captured something unique and spontaneous.
Garret now spends his free time immersed in his hobby of photographic art. These images were captured during the recent opening of the COVID lockdown allowing travel to several of our National Parks: Yosemite, and Zion. His appreciation of the fundamentals of representational photography allowed him the opportunity to view nature’s natural beauty and capture some of that beauty. Light, color, patterns, textures, and reflections are about seeing the world in new ways thereby allowing an emotional transformative process to take place. These photos are about the power of the human soul to respond to the natural beauty existing all around us.
To see more of Garret’s work, visit his website.
4th Place (Traditional) – Lance Bukove – “Arches National Park” – mixed media
I have been a professional artist for over 30 years. I am mostly self-taught but have had some formal training. Colored pencil, ink and watercolor are my media of choice but I have worked with both acrylic and ink. I have also Don 3D art and sculpture. My pieces lean towards realism but for the past few years I have been experimenting with a more Abstract feel. My works are in both corporate and private collections around the world.
To see more of Lance’s work, he can be reached via his Email.
4th Place (Photography & Digital) – Tao Jia – “Rivers and Mountains” – photography
Tao Jia an outdoor photographer and a stubborn guy. Not good at words, he only uses color to express his concepts and ideas. He wants you to travel with his photos and see the colors of the world.
To see more of Tao Jia’s work, he can be reached via his Email.
5th Place (Traditional) – Julia Doemland – “Still Standing” – pastel
Julia Doemland started pursuing her interest in fine arts in college, first at Parsons School of Design and then at Brooklyn College. Living in New York City in the 1980’s was an exciting time for a young art student, and Julia was influenced by the vibrant and talented group of artists teaching at Brooklyn College during that time. She had the opportunity to work in the printmaking studio and to study with highly regarded painters and printmakers. She later went on to study other interests and remained in academia teaching exercise and sport psychology at the college level before retiring. Now, after a fulfilling work-life outside of the arts, Julia has returned to her first love, painting the landscape.
Julia lives in the Sourlands mountain region of central New Jersey, a rich and diverse landscape characterized by mature forests, wetlands, and farms. The unique variation in the landscape has been the inspiration for her work and pastels have been her medium of expression. Her artistic choices come from her early morning walks through the Sourlands as she looks for that ‘special’ relationship between light and shadow and for scenes that elicit a sense of wonder and appreciation for the land we live on.
To see more of Julia’s work, visit her website.
5th Place (Photography & Digital) – Mal Keeble – “Forest Light” – digital image
Mal is an emerging professional photographer based on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. Mal is a communications and public relations professional and has a passion for storytelling – whether that is through words or images. Mal applies this storytelling approach through his photography.
Mal specializes in landscape, adventure, event and action photography, and donates his time generously through volunteering his photography skills to pet rescue and community organizations. Mal is a traveler, adventurer and hiker, a combination that fits perfectly with his pursuit of capturing landscape, wildlife and action 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.”
Mal’s images have been featured by ABC Australia and in local newspapers.
To see more of Mal’s work, please visit his website.
