Our first ever Colorful Creatures exhibition is here! For this exhibition, we wanted artists and photographers to show us what they love about color. Do they focus on one hue or transport us with a rainbow? Is complex color theory what drives them or honing down to a single bold moment?
Congratulations to each artist whose work was accepted into Wild Heart Gallery's "Colorful Creatures" international juried art exhibition!
It is the goal of Wild Heart Gallery to support and promote animal and wildlife artwork in a wide range of genres and styles.
Artwork for this exhibition was selected by jury based on theme, originality, skill, and quality of work. Jurors were Sarah Soward, Sharon Eisley, and Ashli Kingfisher.
Awards: Best in Show, Overall Runner Up, Artivism Award, Overall Honorable Mentions, and Special Merit Awards.
Click on an image to enlarge it.
BEST IN SHOW
Jackrabbit, by Laura Green 18 x 24 inches, Acrylic
From the artist, "Jackrabbit in the bushes."
This painting is an example of complex, successful color theory. It's a rhythmic compilation of complementary and split complementary color. Yellow and violets, blues and tinted oranges play off each other, while those same violets and the array of greens have a wrestling match. Both the value shifts and the analogous colors that go from the highlights of the rabbit to the shadows of the bushes tie the painting together. The combination of vibrancy and muted tones is very satisfying.
And, yes, the paint application is fantastic.
OVERALL RUNNER UP
Bull, by Keri Warner
48 x 60 inches, Mixed Media Collage
From the artist, "Mixed Media Collage, raised texture background with acrylic paint, bull is made from maps, book pages, wrapping paper, embelished with antique door knocker."
Bold color is the obvious play here. The tomato-orange of the background opposes the various blues of the bull in a striking way. Looking longer, notice the green in the horns complementing the garnet-colored flowers. Take a moment to appreciate the orange-gold as reflected light in the shadows that play off the blues. Those subtle complements add tension to an already intense composition. Well played!
ARTIVISM AWARD
Is He Dangerous or is He Cute? by Olga Romashchenko 27x18 centimeters, Photograph
The artists poses the question, dangerous or cute? In presenting this photo, the artist answers the question, "Both." Cute enough to be photographed, safe enough to be a resting place for birds, and dangerous to those who would endanger it.
On the color side of things, check out how the background colors and bird colors enhance the experience of texture and value-scale in the buffalo.
OVERALL HONORABLE MENTIONS
Congratulations to our Overall Honorable Mention winners, Heather Cudworth, Andrew Strom, Darren McGirr, Sue Archibald, Cher Pruys, E. C. Kanko, Josh Gorto, Dennis Ciccoli, and Joseph Bushey.
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SPECIAL MERIT AWARDS
Congratulations to our Special Merit Award winners, Josh Gorton, Julie Freund, Sue Archibald, L. Michele Lutzai, Chris Brain, Kerri Warner, Vidhya Srijesh, and Andrew Strom.
Selected Works
We are so pleased with the variety of expressions of color that there is a Selected Works section in this exhibition. From subtle to shocking and everything in between!
Congratulations to our Selected Artworks artists, Mike Barbee, Heather Cudworth, E. C. Kanko, Chris Brain, Jaime Torres, Andrew Strom, Cher Pruys, Bradley Pattison, Timea Gresens, Olga Romashchenko, Sigrun Werner, and Julie Freund.
Best in Show receives $100 cash award and promotion on the following: Art Week, Wild Heart Gallery’s (WHG's) growing social media and other online media channels, WHG's eNewsletter, and WHG's home page (for duration of the exhibition).
All award recipients receive promotion on Wild Heart Gallery’s (WHG's) growing social media/other online media channels and WHG's eNewsletter and inclusion in a virtual group exhibition that lasts at least one month.
This art exhibition was juried by Sarah Soward, Sharon Eisley, and Ashli Kingfisher.