Animals

Our third Art competition “Animals” started in June 2020 and concluded on July 02, 2020. Art Room Gallery received entries from many countries around the world: USA, Germany, Canada, Russia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, China, Slovakia, Poland, Oman, Nigeria, Ireland and Cyprus. The Animals theme in this competition included a diversity in types, styles and mediums (oil on canvas, acrylic, photography, mixed media, digital, graphite, charcoal, pastel, colored pencil and monoprint). The following evaluation criteria has been used for judging the artwork: creativity, interpretation of the theme, originality and quality of art, overall design, demonstration of artistic ability, and usage of medium. Jury decided to select 64 artworks for inclusion in the exhibition. Aside from First, Second, and Third place Jury also presented Merit awards and Honorable Mention awards.

Thank you, and enjoy the exhibition!

Statement:

Shawna Hinkel is an award-winning photographer from Dallas, Texas. She received her Certification from Professional Photographers of America (PPA) in 2014 and her Master of Photography degree in 2019. Her work has been accepted in the PPA International Photographic Competition Annual Exhibition every year since 2016, with images published in the annual Showcase Collection and Loan Collection books as well. She was the Dallas Professional Photographers Association Photographer of the Year in 2017 and 2018, and was named as one of the Top 10 photographers in Texas in 2020. Wanderlust is my favorite word. It means having a strong desire to explore the world. I believe some people are born with it ingrained in their souls. I know from experience. I have wanted to see new places and experience new cultures my whole life. After a trip, I feel exhilarated and full of life … and then pretty soon I am restless and planning another trip to somewhere new. I know many other people experience similar feelings. This ultimate desire to explore and experience is insatiable. I applaud those who enrich their lives and fulfil this desire. I am fortunate that I bring home from these wonderful places images that allow me to return time after time. They hang all over my home, and I smile as I walk past one and remember being in that place. I would like to give that continuous joy to you. I would like my images to remind you of the places you have been and the experiences that fed your soul. What is your favorite place in the world? Maybe I have been there, too. Maybe I am going there soon. Maybe I have been somewhere you have not even considered yet. We are bound by our love for exploration. Allow my images to fulfill your Wanderlust … at least while you are home between journeys. .

Statement:

My journey into art began in an attempt to express myself on a deeper level that words would not come. It allowed me to really focus my mind and at the same time escape into a safer world. Growing up on a farm in Nebraska, I would spend hours with horses and cattle. I had a natural gift and patients to sit with and interact amongst them. The subjects of my artwork are based in the natural backdrop of my experiences. Horses and cattle, wildlife and fauna all things that I find have beauty or interest. My body of work is my diary. Each piece is personal. Each has a story behind it. The medium of Scratchboard and Claybord etching seemed familiar to me stemming from tooling leatherwork on wallets. Scratchboard a black ink covered clay panel is a reductive artform where Claybord is both painting on colored India inks then removing the ink with razor blades and knives or steel wool to create highlights and a more realistic three-dimensional effect. Each image is a moment in time. Etching an image into clay allows me with one stroke to create a whisker or a sparkle in an eye. To tell my story with art it’s all about the details.

Statement:

“I think everything I do is about life… observing life and creating images that resonate with people. My artwork are vivid recreations of what is the everyday image; works of art encompassing simple concepts of people at work and play. My experiences in life drove me into expressing my feelings through the movement “hyperrealism” which I have been following since 2011. My works are an expression of life. They are fun, lively, contemporary, solemn, and thought-provoking. But beyond all these, I strive for my pieces to represent art at its best”.