Nature

Our sixth Art competition “Nature” started in August 2023 and concluded on August 31, 2023. Art Room Gallery received entries from many countries around the world: USA, Canada, Taiwan, Germany, Australia, Hungary, Hong Kong and UK. The Nature theme in this competition included a diversity in types, styles and mediums (oil on canvas, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, gouache, ink, pencil, digital art, photography). 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 89 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:

LAARA CASSELLS is a contemporary Canadian painter best known for her representational paintings and portraits of people, horses, dogs and wildlife. In this selection, Laara is showcasing some of her wolf paintings. Living on a ranch in Central Alberta, Laara is fortunate to have the opportunity to observe an abundance of wildlife. "I wish to portray each animal as an individual with its own unique personality whether it is a wolf, fox, horse or domestic pet. I try to bring each creature alive for the viewers so that they get the feeling that they have shared with me a momentary magical encounter with the animal themselves. I am so very grateful to be surrounded by so much natural beauty in my life, it is a constant source of inspiration." Laara has exhibited paintings, drawings and sculptures in Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Italy, South Korea, Poland, Switzerland and across the USA and Canada.

Statement:

Short biography Born 1948 Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Began art career 1965 as a studio assistant printmaker. Sent to art school in Montreal (BFA). Journeyed to Open Studio print atelier in 1981, Toronto. Received a Master Printmaker's chop from Don Holman, University of Toronto and founding partner of Open Studio. As Ground Round Studio in partnership with Egedio del Bello began publishing Del Bello Gallery artists (1991). I also published a wealth of my own limited edition prints between 1965 and 1999. After the death of Egedio (1999) and the collapse of the limited, hand printed market. Turned my attention to painting in Acrylic. Statement Elbow Snow Fields This panel and stretched canvas panorama installation of The Elbow Snow Fields, is an impression of the snow that becomes drinking water for about a million people. It was completed in 2015. The theme is the hugeness of the Rocky Mountain landscape which is more spacious than flat land because of the vertical sloops. St. Crox River in spring flood Minnesota/Wisconsin is a straight up singular image of the river near Stillwater, Minnesota in spring flood. It was exciting to paddle down the rapid flooded river. It is a memento of a reunion with my roommate at art school 48 years later. It is also something else about the nature of snow melt into a water flood from Chicago to New Orleans and once a part of a trade network from Quebec to the Gulf of Mexico called Louisianna.

Statement:

Madeleine Wories was born in the Netherlands, raised in Costa Rica and Australia, studied and worked as an architect in Montreal, Canada, and now makes her home in Southern California. Her abstracts evolve through an ongoing dialogue with the painting, acting and reacting to the process intuitively. In the spirit of abstract expressionism, through colour, shape, line, texture, marks, gesture and movement, she strives to find a balance between control and spontaneity where intention and unpredictability converge. The paintings start with loose ideas, which then evolve until they take on a life of their own. She is more interested in the emotional response to the painting with the aim to evoke rather than to depict. She works on paper, canvas, wood panels, and creates collages and wall installations of reclaimed wood and other materials. She often draws inspiration from the environment: landforms, geology, textures, seas, skies, wind and weather, as well as from current events. She has exhibited in the US and internationally, and her work can be found in several corporate, institutional and private collections.