ROAR, the Art of Cats 2025, International Juried Art Exhibition
- sarahsoward
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Congratulations to all the artists of ROAR, the Art of Cats!
Please enjoy this cat-themed exhibition! It's a colorful mix of wildcats, domestic cats, and art genres. The domestic cat artists came out in force for this one! They swept the Overall Honorable Mention awards!
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 and Sharon Eisley.
Awards: Best of Show, Best Domestic Cat Art, Best Wildcat Art, Artivism Award, Overall Honorable Mentions, and Finalists. There is also an art section of Selected Works.
Click on an image below to enlarge it. These are worth enlarging. The detail in each, wherever it lands on the Realism-to-Abstraction scale, is captivating.
BEST OF SHOW
Leopard of Dreams, by Martli Heyns 23.4 x 33.1 inches, Acrylic on canvas panel
From the artist, "Veiled in petals and mystery, this leopard moves like a dream you almost remember. Because the wilderness doesn’t always roar. Sometimes it appears to be caught between the tangible and the imagined, an exquisite silent presence that drifts between worlds.
"This piece explores the quiet power of the untamed, using a dance of contrast: rust and blue, shadow and bloom, stillness and motion. I wanted to capture that fleeting moment when beauty, imagination, and danger feel inseparable, suspended between darkness and light."
The dichotomies in this piece are alluring. As well as the wonderful description from the artist, there's the balance of the fully realized and illustrative forms of the leopard with the abstracted foliage reduces down to chaotic lines. The color theory of flowers to leopard colors is entrancing. There's a calmness to it, even though the leopard seems to be sending them into motion.
BEST DOMESTIC CAT ART
The Pole Dancer, by Cher Pruys
8 x 10 inches, Acrylic on 300LB Hot Press
From the artist, "This wee Maine coon kitten stole my heart with his adorable antics!"
The composition of this is at once playful and thoughtful. The kitten is poised and focused as if something outside the art field caught its attention. We all know this moment. One half-second later, the kitten will likely continue its playful antics.
The focus of detail on this is fantastic. We know where to focus and are invited to get a little lost in the comparison of fur and wooden posts. It's an interesting combination of similar color and shapes but very different textures.
BEST WILDCAT ART
The King's Chant, by Manon Bentley 14 x 11 inches, Many brands of coloured pencils, oil and waxed base
From the artist, "I had saved the reference photo for this lion for quite a while. Scarface was a legendary male lion from the Maasai Mara in Kenya, famous for the distinctive scar over his right eye and his long [lifespan]. He was part of a famous coalition called the "Four Musketeers" and became a symbol of power, survival, and resilience. He died peacefully of natural causes in June 2021 at the age of 14, a remarkable lifespan for a dominant male lion. I really tried to capture the power of this majestic specimen with my coloured pencils. I used many brands to accomplish the most lifelike drawing I could."
This drawing emanates power. The spastic-looking mane and clumping fur make it clear that this is a wild lion, and he's seen some things. Even without the backstory from the artist, viewers know that this is no meek example of lion-hood. We appreciate the mouth posture for this roar and love the detail of the broken tooth. This is not only a solid art piece but also a well-orchestrated portrait.
ARTIVISM AWARD
Feral - No Way to Live, by Annie Wade 18 x 24 inches, Acrylic
From the artist, "A statement about how tragic life is for feral cats."
Without reading the title or the artist's description, it's clear this cat is outdoors and suffering. The cat's posture is the first clue that all those jagged shapes are meant to denote discomfort. The roiling and flame-like shapes in the red make it look like the world's end, at least for the cat. The barbed wire and red droplets tie it all together through straightforward metaphor.
There is beauty in this brutal painting too. The loop of barbed wire is an elegant counter to the impasto work of the harsh geometric shapes.
OVERALL HONORABLE MENTIONS
Congratulations to our Overall Honorable Mention winners, Annmarie Lobdell, Ichihi Aizawa, Kristen Regas, Theresa Novak, Zhanna Urodovskikh, Annie Woody, Siv Blyseth, and E. C. Kanko.
FINALISTS
Congratulations to our award Finalists, Chris Ball, Linda Reymore, Joe Weatherly, Sarah Bennett, Sheila Verseck, Aliaksandra Markava, Ksystof Cetyrkovski, Martli Heyns, Barbara Hess, Tracy Warner, E. C. Kanko, Chris Ball, Joe Weatherly, Alwin Baum, Lorn Curry, and Katrina Kuivinen.
SELECTED WORKS
This section is for works that are selected for the virtual exhibition here on wildheartgallery.com but are not awarded.
Congratulations to our Selected Works artists, Anna Barr, Róbert Sándor, Adriana Titus, Annik Janssens, Lise Racine, Keith Wing, Janine Mount, Linda DeVillier, Kathe Umlauf, Angela Lawson, Debbie Hughbanks, Taylor Walker, Tracy Warner, Linda Short, Linda Reymore, Annik Janssens, Kathe Umlauf, Theresa Novak.
SEE MORE ENTRIES
The entries that made it to the final round of judging are also available to view on our art submission partner site: ArtCall.org
These additional images will be available to view through approximately November 2026. After that date, ArtCall automatically archives the pages.
Award Distribution for ROAR 2025
Best in Show receives $350 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).
Best Wild Cat Art and Best Domestic Cat Art each receive $100 cash award and 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.
Artivism Award receives $50 cash award and 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.
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. All award recipients also receive an award certificate, emailed as a PDF to the email address used for the submission process.
This art exhibition was juried by Sarah Soward and Sharon Eisley