Current Exhibition

Our fourth Art competition “Botanicals” started in July 2022 and concluded on August 11, 2022. Art Room Gallery received entries from many countries around the world: USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, China, Germany, Italy and Spain. The Botanicals theme in this competition included a diversity in types, styles and mediums (oil on canvas, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, digital painting, photography, copper and wire). 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 79 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:

Working 30 years as a licensed artist, illustrator, and shows at the top art festival circuits, Laurie Snow Hein also taught workshops around the country and in Europe. Many awards have accumulated over the years, but it is the joy of teaching, the enthusiasm of her students and clients that is most meaningful. Laurie is an accomplished portrait artist, also well known for Florida landscapes, beaches, oceans, botanicals, and birds. Laurie is an avid traveler who sees the world through her artistic eye. She went on a solo cross-country road trip, white water rafting down the Colorado River, and recently returned from an African Safari. On her trips she creates plein air paintings or takes photographs of this beautiful world to create stunning oil paintings from her experiences. Enjoy her art on her website: www.lauriesnowhein.com or Fine Art America, where you can purchase her work directly. Follow her art and videos on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest. Artist Statement The mystique and natural beauty of Florida are the elements that inspire me to bring a canvas to life by capturing a special time of day that is magical. Painting the raw splendor and energy of Florida’s natural environment allows me as an artist to introduce the observer of my artwork to the wonderment I feel when observing God’s craftsmanship. By creating a painting of clouds, ocean, landscape, or birds unique to Florida on canvas, I can bring to life the light and inspiration that makes my work and spirit come alive with beauty, color, emotion. This passion is driven by the desire to create realistic expressions depicting the divine majesty of God’s creations often found only a short drive civilization. I paint this tropical paradise to bring it back home for others to savor and enjoy. Laurie’s website is www.laurieheinartist.com.

Statement:

The public appreciates her serene watercolour paintings, whose dynamic, yet romantic floral compositions combined with glowing and excellent light-fastness colours are painted on high-quality paper. Flowers have been her main inspiration because of their diversity, sensuousness and symbolism, which she relates to the blossoming life around her. She focuses on the individuality, essence and spirituality of flowers. Her personal style presents a bold energy and she pushes the limits of traditional watercolour and flower painting rules in her approach, technique, composition and execution. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Teaching Visual Arts from Université du Québec in Montreal. Internationnaly awarded artist Lorraine Dietrich, lives now in Shawinigan (Québec).

Statement:

Yuqian Sun was born in Shenzhen, China in 1997. At the age of 14, her long journey of studying abroad began. After graduading from Idyllwild Arts Academy in California, she earned her BFA degree at the University of Michigan in 2019. Now she works as an art program leader at an international high school. At the same time, her career as a professional artist has never been derailed. She deeply believes that keep creating as an artist is the way to obtain fresh ideas for teaching. She saved all her free time to make artworks and brought what she learnt back to her classroom. At the age of 21, Yuqian published her original photography book, and held her first personal exhibition. Watercolor is the medium she studies the most in the past 9 years. The emotional intensity that emerges in the poetic flow of translucent color is the reason of her obsession with the medium. Yuqian enjoys taking multiple photos of a flower to record different stages of its withering process. Each person has unique facial features, minor imperfections and traces of aging, therefore using portrait to preserve a certain moment of him is essential. Showing unique flaws of each flower is like capturing a model’s subtle expressions. It adds vitality and personalities to them. The color spots on those slowly drying out petals are visualized evidence of the intangible concept of time. She found fresh buds, flowers in full blossom, flowers that are withering and already dried out flowers co-exist in the same place, creating this mysterious narrative space that visualizes an overlapping status of different life moments of the same object.