This show will run November 1-30, 2014. Artists from around the world were called to submit their work and we were pleased with the response we received. (121 works entered and 119 accepted) Multiple accepted entries came from 23 different states  in the USA and 4 other countries, Canada, Ireland, The Netherlands, and Switzerland. A variety of styles and mediums were entered including, acrylic, charcoal, colored pencil, digital painting, graphic illustration, graphite, ink, lacquer, marker, mixed media, oil, pastel, photography, printmaking, and watercolor. The judging criterion was originality, interpretation, quality, demonstration of ability, and usage of medium. Other factors, such as the clarity of the images provided and their ability to be viewed online, also contributed to the decision. “Best of Show”, “First Place”, and “Second Place” winners received a monetary award in addition to special recognition.

We were very happy to present a check to the Bedford County Humane Society with 10% of all entry fees from this show. Click here to see more about our donation. It is our hope that this small act of kindness will blossom and grow to help someone else. Please visit http://bchsonline.org/ for more information.

Thank you to all the artists who participated! Your talents and skills gave us a diverse body of work to create this attractive show.

Buyers- Please contact the artists directly for sales. Colors of Humanity Art Gallery does not handle any part of the sale or collect any commission, it is solely between the buyer and artist. You may find a link to the artist’s website or email address below their work.

Gemma is a self-taught artist whose artwork is enjoyed by many animal art collectors all over the world. Applying several layers of colored pencils allows Gemma to simulate the look of an oil or acrylic painting; each piece can take up to 150 hours to create.

Growing up on a small ranch in Southern California, Gemma Gylling developed her love of nature, animals and creativity. Gemma currently lives in Valley Springs, California with her husband, Bill and their three dogs.

An avid traveler, Gemma thrives in locals that allow her the opportunity to photograph the wildlife. In addition to most of the United States, Gemma has also travelled to Costa Rica, Alaska, South Africa and Canada. Many of the reference photos Ms. Gylling uses for her paintings are from her Wildlife Safari trip in South Africa.

Gemma, as a signature member of Artists for Conservation, pledges a portion of her sales to Animal Conservation groups including PAWS (Performing Animal Welfare Society) and the National Wildlife Federation. Gemma volunteers as a Docent for the Lions and Elephants at the PAWS Sanctuary in San Andreas, California. Gemma is also a juried member of Society of Animal Artists, a signature member of the Colored Pencil Society of America and a member of the Placerville Arts Association. She’s been accepted in numerous exhibitions all over the world and has also won numerous awards in those exhibitions.

When asked what inspires her Gemma says, “The Animals speak to me in a very special way and because of that I try to help them speak to you through my art. I strive to portray the velvet touch of their fur, the sound of their roar or the plight they are living to simply exist”.

Hannah works part time as a high school art teacher in the Netherlands. The rest of her week is spent earning a living as an artist. Sometimes, she will sell a piece of her “free work” but also is commissioned for animal portraits. She added an English version to her website to obtain commissions from all around the world. For example,  she created a double cat-portrait for someone in Saudi- Arabia. When asked, she also does graphic design and can “pimp” a website.

Her work, as displayed on her website, is very realistic, but she also likes to work a little rougher and more abstract. Though it is always figurative in nature. Since time is limited, she made a conscious choice to present herself this way (the realistic style) . 

About the way she works? Hannah uses photographs for her work but the compositions are her own. She will take bits and pieces from various pictures, arrange them in Photoshop, decide which parts to sharpen and which to make blurry, where the various pieces are cut off, decide on the light, and change the colours. By the time she is done, no photographer can recognize their own picture. If possible, she will take the photographs herself. If not, she will ask permission or pay for the use of them. 

She loves working with oils for canvas and prefers to use anything that "rubs off" for use on paper, though the base is always pastel.

In her next project, she will try to find a new approach to the genre “still life” but still, it will be realistic and animals will be a part of those paintings.

Ryan lives in an EcoVillage a midst the world he enjoys painting the most, the natural world. Poplar trees are his skyscrapers, the morning chickadees, titmice and cardinals are his fellow commuters who chirp warm good mornings on their way to start their day. Ryan commutes a mere 15 steps to his front porch, where inspiration repeatedly washes over him like warm gulf waves rolling over sand and shell covered beaches, chattering about the treasures they wash upon the shore. How can one not be driven to create, when surrounded by such a magnificent creation?

The natural world screams to be known, to be gazed upon, to be remembered. So often screens sap our attention for huge portions of our waking days, the environment from which we arose barely a memory in the minds of people with far too much to do and not enough time to do it. Ryan is physiologically unable to be away from the leaves of the trees for any extended period of time, and so takes it upon himself to create works of art that allow people trapped in the grey cubicle of everyday life to remember that there is beauty all around them, if only they were to simply stare out of a window for a few minutes. Each work is a prayer that humans are able to remember where they came from and can return to a way of life that brings happiness, satisfaction and security to all beings that share this planet.

This show received many exceptional works making it difficult to chose the winners.  There was a long list of outstanding artwork that could be chosen for this honor and it was a very close call. As the results were tallied, we felt that all the works below deserved special recognition.

"Did I hear My Name?"

(scratchboard and ink)

by Louise Collier

http://www.louisegcollier.com

"Mohawk Profile"

(photography)

by Lewis Surrey

http://weatherphotographs.com

"Homeward Bound"

(pastel)

by Lewis Goldstein

lgoldstein@barstow.edu

"A Grizzly Encounter"

(oil)

by Teresa Johnson

http://www.teresalynnjohnson.com