BEST IN SHOW EVENT
JANUARY 2019
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SUE CARMICLE

BEST IN SHOW -- ANIMAL -- JULY 2018
"MORNING RUN"
Acrylic -- 14 X 18 inches -- $250.00
carmicle1@live.com
https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/sue-carmicle.html

BIOGRAPHY
Susan Carmicle is a self- taught artist born and raised in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota.  Her father was a talented visual artist and her mother was a gifted musician and song writer.  Her parents greatly influenced and encouraged her artistic development.  With a strong focus in realism, her goal is to capture the beauty of our natural world.  Her main media are acrylics and pastels.  Susan has taken several adult education courses throughout her life which has contributed to her growth as an artist.  Retiring in 2013, she began sharing her work with the public through venues other than the internet.  Among some of the places Susan’s work has been shown is the Historic Whitney House on the St. Cloud State University Campus in Minnesota:  A solo exhibition at The Red Cross Building in St. Cloud, MN and the Image Art Show in Braham, MN.  In November of 2015 her art along with other artists was chosen to be displayed in conjunction with the Smithsonian Show Water/Ways at the Audubon Center of the Northwoods in Sandstone, MN.  She is a member of The Hallberg Arts Center in Wyoming, MN. where her pieces have been shown frequently.  In June of 2015, Susan’s work was selected through an International call for art which had over 3,000 submissions.  She was awarded an 18-page layout in the LandEscape Art Review: Anniversary Edition Special Issue 2015.  This layout includes an interview as well as photographs of her work.

ARTIST STATEMENT
"I am in love with the creative process.  Painting is a large part of who I am.  There is no better way to express my inner self and feelings than through my art.  Although I use many media, I find myself returning to acrylics and pastels.  I use oil pastels when I am in the mood for a quick study of color and form.  Realism is a very rewarding style for expressing myself.  It can take several months to complete a painting.  I find the details challenging, even somewhat tedious at times.  When I grow weary of a piece; I immerse myself in abstract art.  I allow the brush and the paint to flow as they will.  I become an instrument, a medium if you will; enjoying the dance of creation that has nothing to do with me.  The joy of not being in control and letting the art takeover is inexplicable.  Often my works will be my interpretation of our external world.  At times I include people or animals for a more focused study of our connection to the natural world.  My hope is to capture the beauty of our earth and stir the viewer at some level." -- SUE CARMICLE

MARIA PETROV

BEST IN SHOW -- WATER -- AUGUST 2018
"BREAKING BLUE"
Soft pastels -- 22 X 30 inches
maria.petrov13@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/mariapetrovart

JOLA SOARES

BEST IN SHOW -- OPEN -- SEPTEMBER 2018
"IS IT REAL?"
Encaustic -- 12 X 12 inches
jolasoaresart@gmail.com
 www.jolantasoares.com

BIOGRAPHY
Jola graduated with a B.S. degree in computer science and has been working as a database administrator for over twenty years.  During that time she managed to take art classes and workshops and to paint in her free time to balance a very stressful and demanding job.  She is Polish-born and moved to the USA more than thirty years ago having lived mostly in Chicago since then.  Jola works in multiple media including oil and cold wax, encaustic, photography and ceramics and exhibits her work in Chicago and Midwest area galleries.

ARTIST STATEMENT
"I believe that art is very powerful therapy and has the gift of healing.  I’m an intuitive painter inspired by self-discovery, relationships with others, life stories, human emotions and experiences.  I’m interested in capturing meaningful moments in time and representing them in abstract expressions, mark makings and colour on canvas.  I put down several layers of paint while experimenting with colours, textures and markings while using different tools such as brooms, whisks, skewers, pencils etc.  The process of adding and subtracting paint is an essential part of the process.  By revealing older layers and building up new ones, different feelings and memories are awakened and they eventually lead to finished pieces that speak to me." -- JOLA SOARES

TONI SILBER-DELERIVE

BEST IN SHOW -- CITY -- OCTOBER 2018
"MANHATTAN ROOFTOPS"
Acrylic on canvas -- 48 X 48 inches
toni@tonisart.com
  www.tonisart.com

BIOGRAPHY
Toni Silber-Delerive is a Manhattan based award winning artist and graphic designer.  She attended the Philadelphia College of Art where she studied Fine Arts with a major in painting and received an MA in Art Education from Kean College.  Toni studied graphic design and silkscreening at the School of Visual Arts in NYC.  Her work is represented in private and corporate collections and has been in many exhibitions.  A selection is included here: Solo gallery shows in New York, Adelante, James Beard, Rockefeller Gallery, Speakeasy Gallery, Blue Hill Plaza, Interchurch Center, the National Arts Club and Commenoz Gallery in Key Biscayne, FL. A selection of NY group gallery shows includes Equity Gallery, Van der Plas, Curate NYC, Sylvia Wald and Poe Kim, Jeffery Leder, Gallery 440, Studio 5404, Art Space, Blue Mountain, Prince Street, Pen and Brush, Dacia, Studio Gallery, The National Arts Club, Nat’l Association of Women Artists, Main Street Arts, The Chelsea Art Museum. Kaller Fine Arts and Marin-Price in Washington, DC, George Segal Gallery and Riverside Gallery in NJ. Zullo Gallery in MA. She is an active member and exhibitor at the National Arts Club, Artists’ Fellowship and the Nat’l Association of Women Arts.  Additional information and visuals can be seen on Toni’s web site www. tonisart.com.

ARTIST STATEMENT
"My aerial-view paintings represent diverse places and spaces of the contemporary landscape seen from an aboveground perspective.  The flattened surface planes convey the textures of abstract space enhanced by compositional aesthetics and skillful use of color.  From the elevated position of high-rise buildings and helicopters, my images of cities and towns, factories and farmlands, power plants, suburban communities and highways are delivered with a distinctive angle on structures frequently taken for granted.  Through the aerial vantage point one discovers a modern perspective and fresh visual vocabulary.  The flattened plane reduces details to strong graphic images.  More than just a recording of the contemporary landscape, my paintings are my own interpretation of the essence of these scenes.  They combine elements of abstraction and representation, pattern and grid, surface and illusion, as well as observation, imagination, and memory.  Whether hovering high above city streets and highways, floating serenely over the countryside, or soaring above towns, harbors and monuments, they examine the relationship between man-made and natural, urban and rural, agrarian and industrial, power, labor and leisure.  My work can be understood on many levels, from the simple interplay of shape and color to the narrative of the pictorial story." -- TONI SILBER-DELERIVE

MITCH DAVIS-MANN

BEST IN SHOW -- SKY -- NOVEMBER 2018
"SET ME FREE"
Oil pastel -- 4.5 X 6.5 inches
Mitchdavismann@gmail.com
   www.instagram.com/mitchdavismann/?hl=en

BIOGRAPHY
From a young age Mitch has been creating art through every possible medium he could get his hands on.  Mitch is a self taught, emerging artist who is disciplined in most media.  He is currently working out of Dundas Ontario.  In his short career Mitch has exhibited in galleries in Toronto, a museum in Ancaster, sold work at an annual auction in Dundas, and won a few awards including a “Best in Show” and an “Emerald Award of Merit”. Mitch’s work ranges from soft pastel paintings that depict frozen surreal landscapes to oil paintings that create a delicate balance between abstraction and realism.  In his portraits there is a very raw, unfiltered emotion which often touches on environmental issues.  Mitch strives to become a painter of all things so he is constantly evolving and always creating beyond his comfort zone.  Light and shadow are the biggest inspiration for Mitch no matter what subject they have a grasp on.  Whether it be the light illuminating a puddle creating a reflection, the subtle highlights on a nose, or the shadows in the dimples of a smile, Mitch is always attempting to perfect the delicate balance between the light and dark.

ARTIST STATEMENT
"My artwork cannot be described as a single chapter.  My range is enormous so it becomes an entire novel with twists, turns and even a surprise ending.  There is too much subject matter and media choices to limit myself to just one.  Soft pastels skillfully finger-blended help convey a sense of the movement and power of water in many forms and in the dancing colour of the northern lights.  Oil paint aggressively applied with a palette knife creates a delicate mix of abstraction and realism depicting a vast mountain, moody cityscape or an intensely emotional portrait.  I strive to be a painter of everything so I'm constantly pushing beyond the limits of what I believe I can create.  I feel all artists should expand their comfort zone every once in a while to allow growth in their work." -- MITCH DAVIS-MANN

STEPHEN WYSOCKI

BEST IN SHOW -- WHEELS -- DECEMBER 2018
"OLD TIMBER HAULER"
Oil on canvas -- 9 X 12 inches
swysockiart@gmail.com
   www.swysockiart.faso.com

ARTIST STATEMENT
"I love to paint and am always painting even when I don’t have a brush in my hand.  I can’t get away from it, it's that simple.  My mission is to show beauty in the ordinary and to allow viewers to experience an image they see every day in a new way.  I gravitate toward ordinary structures or roadside junk that is rusty and for sale.  I see the hard edge contrasts these everyday objects convey and try to portray that in the hues and shadows of my paintings.  There is joy in this old stuff and I try to capture this feeling.  I am always looking to create an atmosphere in my work.  I believe color can stand alone to convey a mood in a piece of work.  I like to explore an image by playing with the many warm and cool tones.  This is what drives me to paint.  I like to let the paint tell the story that I am trying to convey.  I don't like to dwell on every detail.  My painting style is loose and not controlled.  It's more of a discovery." -- STEPHEN WYSOCKI



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