The top five artists in each category were given awards in the 8th Annual Landscapes 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 8th Annual Landscapes 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) – Kerry Adcock – “DAWN AT WOLF CREEK PASS” – acrylic
Kerry is a graduate of Angelo State University with a degree in Fine Art. His work has been commissioned for paintings, illustrations, and publications. His focus is primarily acrylic on canvas to express a variety of themes to include western, landscapes, religious, and wildlife. His work has been displayed in galleries as well as an international art publication. His goal is to capture the reality in every detail. “It is the reality that is the beauty.” His art work was recently featured in the December/January issue of Southwest Art Magazine.
To learn more about Kerry and to see more of her work, please visit her website.
Best in Show (Photography & Digital) – Barbara Mierau-Klein – “AUTUMN IN ALASKA” – digital photo collage
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. 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 in a number of galleries in the US and Europe and has received numerous awards. Her images also appear regularly in international art magazines. Barbara is represented locally by Waverly Street Gallery in Bethesda, MD.
To learn more about Barbara and to see more of her work, please visit her website.
Best in Show (3-Dimensional) – Sara Ussher – “IN THE SUMMER EVENING LIGHT” – acrylic paint on a natural stone
My interest is stones and stone painting, in that sense that I want to create a sculptural dimension by painting the stone just to highlight the stone itself and the qualities of that stone. I find it very fascinating and challenging to go for a realistic creation by paying attention to and at the same time make use of the form, the size, the consistency and the color shift of that particular stone. The creative process thus starts with the stone itself and in this way the material is guiding me. By interpreting the “spirit” of the stone I am able to express myself and create meanings. I use crude natural stones – not processing them in any way – that I find in the surroundings. The “dull” stones out there, I feel, have a lot to offer.
To learn more about Sara and to see more of her work, she can be reached via her Email.
2nd Place (Traditional) – Nancy Honaker – “MOODY BLUES” – colored pencil
Art has always been a refuge and a passion for Nancy ever since she was a child, even stating at the age of 5 that she wanted to be an artist with her own studio when she grew up. Nancy attended college at BGSU in Ohio and graduated with a Fine Arts degree specializing in painting and graphic design. She moved to CA and life took her in different directions for years, but eventually ended up back in Ohio where she rediscovered her joy of creating fine art by entering a colored pencil art challenge. She works in many different mediums, but colored pencil is truly her specialty. She is a proud member of CPSA and her work has been published in many international magazines and shown in galleries.
To learn more about Nancy and to see more of her work, please visit her website.
2nd Place (Photography & Digital) – Christopher Forslund – “DREAM CATCHER” – photography
Christopher grew up in the rural, coastal mountains of California where he fell in love with the outdoors, photography, and the arts. From his early involvement with the Boy Scouts, through his law enforcement career, and then as a touring professional musician and now as a full time RVer, he has had the opportunity to travel, explore and capture much of this nation’s beauty though the art photography. Over the past several years, Christopher’s image style has evolved towards the dramatic. His landscape images evoke strong, expressive emotions. An emphasis on color, light and detail creates dramatic expression in his images.
To learn more about Christopher and to see more of his work, please visit his website.
3rd Place (Traditional) – Lin Cheng – “FOREST” – oil painting
“My inspiration comes from the experience of life, observing all the beautiful things and unknown stories in the world. Express your emotions on the tip of the pen. Let everyone feel the beauty and not beauty. Every artist’s creative skills are derived from the combination of authentic heart and profound painting skills.”
Lin Cheng is an artist based in China. She graduated from the Directing Department of Beijing Film Academy and has been engaged in artistic creation for many years. She has won awards in online art exhibitions including Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery’s 13th Annual “Botanicals” Online Art Exhibition in January 2023.
To learn more about Lin Cheng and to see more of her work, she can be contacted via her Email.
3rd Place (Photography & Digital) – John H Diephouse – “FIVE TREES IN FOG” – 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.
Most recently I have begun exploring digital collages as a means of expression. 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 and to see more of his work, please visit his Instagram.
4th Place (Traditional) – Barbara West – “RED BARNS AT MOSS LANDING” – oil
Barbara West is an orthodontist and an artist. She studied art at the University of Pittsburgh, Rhode Island School of Design, Boston Museum School and De Cordova Museum School. She has participated in numerous workshops and been juried into many shows and was recently juried into Women Painters West.
Barbara’s mediums include oil, pastel and monotypes. Her style is contemporary realism. Her subjects include landscapes, still lifes, figured, boats and animals.
To learn more about Barbara and to see more of her work, please visit her website.
4th Place (Photography & Digital) – John Gregg – “MOUNT HOOD” – photography
I am a self-taught photographer and have been a life-long photo enthusiast with experience in microscopic and macroscopic techniques. I have been taking photos for many years starting with film cameras with which I developed a keen eye for “seeing” what others may miss or see as ordinary. This creative aspect of wanting my photos to be unique, something that would catch your eye like it did mine is what drives my photographic work to record those beautiful details of unexplored worlds. My focus is on landscape, nature and fine art photography using a variety of cameras and processes.
To learn more about John and to see more of his work, he can be reached via his Email.
5th Place (Traditional) – Cher Pruys – “MAM TORR” – acrylic on 300 lb hot press
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 and to see more of her work, please visit her website.
5th Place (Photography & Digital) – Judy Belleci – “SUNSET SPLENDOR” – digital art
Judy has had a passion for art from her very early years. She was influenced by her mother, a watercolor artist. Judy is a self-taught artist and photographer which is the root for her creativity. She is first an artist — heart, soul, and eyes. She storms with a quick and uncomplicated ability to create promptly with a click of her camera shutter. however, that is only the beginning. Then Judy launches into her fertile visionary process. The results … zen; that contemplation of one’s essential nature to the exclusion of all else. Judy finds inspiration in her natural surroundings and in the joy of sharing that world through her art.
Judy has been deeply engaged in art since 2008. 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. In her quest for inspiration and innovation she travels to fascinating natural sights as provocation for her art. Judy’s heart and creativity are her way of expressing harmony and a sense of the divine order of our universe. To date her greatest artistic achievement is Best of Show in Fusion Art’s 6th Annual Colors Art Exhibition in April 2022.
To learn more about Judy and to see more of her work, please visit her website.
