Current Exhibition

Our sixth Art competition “Animals” started in May 2023 and concluded on June 08, 2023. Art Room Gallery received entries from many countries around the world: USA, Japan, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Australia, Taiwan, UK, France and China. The Animals theme in this competition included a diversity in types, styles and mediums (oil on canvas, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, charcoal, gouache, etching, ink, pencil, bronze, digital painting, 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 122 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:

During his 15 years working as a sequential artist and digital painter in the comic and gaming industry, Scott Ferguson learned the importance of composition, conceptual development and creating a strong narrative. These base fundamentals would eventually lead him to fine art with his primary media being oil paint. “As humans, we’ve strived for a connection with wildlife, to observe their intelligence, playfulness and beauty. That’s reflected in our everyday lives through the tools we use, the stories we tell and I’ve always embraced celebrating that interrelation,” he says. “Growing up on my family’s farm, nearly every day was spent trying to view some sort of wild animal with my tattered Audubon field guide tucked under my arm." After running himself ragged from adventures, he would return to a home filled with beautifully-made old tools from his grandfather ,who was a leatherworker and toymaker, and my mother, a painter herself. “It’s no wonder that these everyday interactions would ingrain themselves in me and become favorite subjects to paint nearly forty years later.”

Statement:

I am passionate about nature, animals and drawing. With my photorealistic pastel paintings of animals, I try to approach the character of the animal as much as possible. With my art, I want to make the viewer aware of the beauty and uniqueness of all living creatures, and the threats they are unfortunately often exposed to. I also do pet portraits, the enthusiastic reactions from owners give me immense satisfaction. Looking towards the future, I would like to become increasingly involved in conservation through my paintings by donating part of the proceeds to charity.

Statement:

Shawna Hinkel is an award-winning photographer from Dallas, Texas. She received her Certification from Professional Photographers of America (PPA) in 2014 and her Master of Photography degree in 2019. Her work has been accepted in the PPA International Photographic Competition Annual Exhibition every year since 2016, with images published in the annual Showcase Collection and Loan Collection books as well. She was the Dallas Professional Photographers Association Photographer of the Year in 2017 and 2018, and was named as one of the Top 10 photographers in Texas in 2020. She also received the American Society of Photographers’ State Elite Award in 2020. She has won a variety of other awards, and has been featured in multiple art gallery exhibitions. There are so many wonderful animals in the world. Some are jovial and funny; some are shy and reserved. It is amazing to watch them interact with each other and observe how much like humans they are. They show a variety of personalities and emotions. Spending the time to get to know them and see their individuality is very rewarding. I hope more people can find a deeper understanding and affection for them. If we spent more effort helping to save them and their environments, what a better world it would be.