Grand Prize
Grand Prize is a four-page editorial feature in American Art Collector magazine
Winter Reflection, watercolor, 30 x 22" (76 x 55 cm)
Rukiye Garip
Balıkesir, Turkey
Visual Splendor
Turkish artist Rukiye Garip is captivated by the natural world around her. Working in watercolor, Garip captures intimate moments in the outdoors, from little river rocks in a pool of clear water, to the first fallen leaves of autumn, to salmon making ripples in a pond.
“My paintings are inspired by both soothing and provocative aspects of nature,” says the artist. “Tranquil elements such as still transparent water, soft sand, moss and autumn leaves give me a sense of happiness and peace, while the dynamism of bare rocks, steep slopes and thermal movements evoke an exciting sense of movement, energy, exhilaration and wonder. When juxtaposed with the robotic, artificial and exhausting aspects of city life, I want to remind people of this stimulating quality of nature. I care about being able to convey my feelings effectively, to create a deep emotional connection between me and my subjects.”
While Garip strives for realism in her work, she doesn’t aim to create an exact copy of what she sees. Rather, she is telling an intricate story. “The emotional connection I have with my subjects, even in my very realistic works, can turn into a different story with my spontaneous changes and contributions. The pure values and details of things in nature are important to me,” she says. “Every stone, every leaf, every tree, every human being. In my opinion, they are not masses that can be understood and judged only by evaluating them collectively. Each one of them affects the existence of other beings and contributes to natural life with its own existence.”
My Inspiration
The inspiration for this painting came from the forest near my home, whose mesmerizing beauty captivates me in all seasons and at different times of the day. On a winter’s day, while walking, I saw autumn leaves shimmering with golden, amber and orange colors, swaying peacefully under the transparent water. I wanted you to feel the invigorating effect of melting snow, wet stones and trees reflected in the water, the sky and the light that heralds the transition to spring. I tried to convey serenity and harmony as well as visual splendor with each brushstroke.
My Design Strategy
It was not easy to include my favorite leaf clusters and sparkles in my composition. Since the reference photographs I had taken didn’t fully capture what I felt and imagined, I used more than one photograph to create a new composition. I left out the parts I didn’t like and added new leaf clusters, stones and branches. I had to decide where to start for this multi-layered work. In order not to drown in details, it was best to act in accordance with the order and layers in nature.
My Working Process
In this process, which I had to plan from the beginning, I experimented with drawing and color for three days. First, I painted the snowy areas. I made the shadows with ultramarine, Winsor blue and manganese blue hue and added light with opera rose and Naples yellow. Then I painted the lightest tonal transitions in the water reflections. In order to fuse the warm colored leaves with cold water colors, I worked wet-in-wet in the first plan and used salt effect for stone and leaf textures. In the final stage, I worked layer by layer to create the darkest shadows. I softened the sparkles by removing the masking fluid I used to protect the shimmering areas on the water surface. It was both challenging and exciting to be able to give the magical effect I wanted by thinking about the next layers from the beginning of the painting, preserving light and transparency. I completed the painting phase in five days, working an average of four hours a day.
Contact Details
Email: rukiye@garip.me
Website: instagram.com/rukiyegarip
Second Prize
Second Prize is a two-page editorial feature in American Art Collector magazine
The river in spring, gouache and acrylic, 21¼ x 151/3" (54 x 39 cm)Misure Nien
Changhua City, Taiwan
My Inspiration
The inspiration for this piece comes from the dynamic interplay of light and shadow on the surface of water in nature. The ever-changing nature of water prompts reflection on its beauty and serenity. I aimed to capture the tranquil essence of water, revealing its enchanting appearance under different lighting conditions, thereby conveying a sense of harmony to the viewer.
My Design Strategy
In my design, I emphasized the transparency of the water and the details of the light reflections to enhance visual depth. The use of gouache with its rich saturation and opacity allowed for a soft blending of colors in the base and shadows. I employed white acrylic to create highlights on the water surface, forming contrasts that guide the viewer’s attention. The overall composition utilizes contrast and harmony, allowing the viewer’s gaze to flow naturally, creating a cohesive narrative within the artwork.
My Working Process
The creative process involves several stages. First, I conceptualized and sketched to determine the layout of elements. Then, I applied gouache to paint the primary color blocks, establishing the background and water surface. Once dried, I focused on detailing the ripples and highlights on the water. Finally, I made overall adjustments, adding details and shadows to ensure the piece’s harmony and achieve the best effect. This process enabled me to create a work of art that is both beautiful and vibrant with life.
Contact Details
Email: misure@gmail.com
Website: instagram.com/misurenien
Third Prize
Third Prize is a one-page editorial feature in American Art Collector magazine
Church Cove 2, oil on linen, 27½ x 59" (69 x 149 cm)David Sandell
Northamptonshire, UK
My Inspiration
I’ve spent time at sea, I was also born near it and have lived by it. Of all those who spend time on the sea, surfers in particular, have an intimate knowledge of its surface. They have their faces at sea level where four foot waves look intimidating. They also study tides, wave patterns and weather conditions. Using a similar preparation I am attempting to capture something of this intimacy with the sea without getting my feet wet! The sea is a huge draw, it is evidence of nature’s brutal yet beautiful power, but we underestimate it at our peril.
My Design Strategy
This painting of the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall, England, involved hours observing the sea and how it behaves. Despite its apparent chaotic nature, it often has a rhythm and pattern. Capturing the right reference material requires patience and being ready to go when the light and weather changes. I spend hours on the rocks sketching and watching the waves form; it is mesmerizing. From numerous photographs, I select what I think captures the feeling I had at a particular moment. This scene seemed to best convey the evolution of a wave.
My Working Process
Using primed linen I grid my canvas and my chosen photograph. With a thinned mix of burnt sienna and violet, I paint in the basic structure. I then paint the darkest areas mixing indigo and raw sienna. Once this stage is dry I apply a glaze of the dominant color over the whole sea surface. I use my limited palette to build the general wave shapes and the range of values in layers before working on detail, saving white highlights until the end. The rest of my palette comprises ultramarine blue, Payne’s gray, titanium and flake white.
Contact Details
Email: info@davidsandell.co.uk
Website: davidsandell.com
Finalists
Each receives an Award Certificate and a one-year subscription to International Artist magazine PLUS having their work seen worldwide by international galleries looking for new talent.
Bayview Sunrise, oil on canvas, 36 x 84" (91 x 213 cm)
Andy Eccleshall
Washington, USA
My Inspiration
The inspiration for most of my paintings is what I observe every day in the landscape that surrounds me. The Pacific Northwest is blessed with wonderful subtleties of light and mood. This particular painting strives to capture the pre-dawn light of the Skagit Valley in Washington State and the magical combination of warm and cool tones radiating from the surroundings. This particular morning was perfectly still and silent.
My Design Strategy
The scene deserved something of a grand scale in order for the viewer to feel as though they are in the landscape. The canvas is 36 x 84" with the land occupying the lower third of the canvas. This allows for the large expanse of open sky to truly shine while the perfectly still slough leads the viewer back towards the Cascade mountains in the distance. A very fine line of ultramarine blue runs along the profile of the mountains, accentuating the contrast of cool and warm tones.
My Working Process
I like to do plein air studies to help me accurately capture color. This particular morning I was at the slough by 6:15 a.m. to do a very fast color study of the light. I took photos of the scene so that I could accurately render the profile of the cascade mountains. In the studio I begin with dividing the canvas into sections of visual weight, ensuring a balance in the composition, roughing in the scene and then working in layers, refining as I go.
Contact Details
Email: ajeccleshall@gmail.com
Website: andyeccleshall.com
The Cut River, pen and ink, 11 x 14" (27 x 35 cm)Ann Dyer
Michigan, USA
My Inspiration
The tranquility and feeling of isolation in this scene gave me a sense of timelessness.The autumn colors were just beginning, giving a glimpse of the splendor that was to come. The smoothness of the beautiful clear water made a nice contrast to the birch trees and all the surrounding vegetation.
My Design Strategy
I wanted the water to portray calmness and also felt there should be slight movement to make it seem alive, while indicating some objects below the surface to give a sense of depth. I liked the challenge of trying to show all the different textures of the surrounding vegetation in contrast to the water. I feel the pen strokes add interest and give a unique look that sets ink work apart from other mediums.
My Working Progress
A detailed pencil drawing starts the process, keeping in mind where the white and darkest areas are to be. A traditional dip pen and colored inks are used throughout on hot press illustration board. I have more than two dozen ink colors and use Higgins and Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bombay India ink brands. On occasion a color is used straight from the bottle, but usually colors are mixed and/or diluted when applied. The technique used is mostly typical line work, with some stippling and crosshatch.
Contact Details
Email: dyeram1@att.net
Morning, oil on canvas, 12 x 16" (30 x 40 cm)David Buckbinder
Arizona, USA
My Inspiration
The beauty, power and majesty of the sea. This is why I paint it. This is what inspires me. Each developing wave, each breaking wave, has its own character. The striving to capture this magnificence is what motivates me. It’s an endless, enjoyable task. The ebb and flow of the sea continues to draw me in, to go back again and again, because it is more than the ocean, it is about all of life.
My Design Strategy
When I’m designing a seascape, I look for a focal point (where the action is happening). It can be achieved with contrasting colors. Perhaps a dramatic sunset against a calm sea or dark brown rocks engulfed by huge breakers. Storms, bringing angry clouds and lots of drama, can be wonderful elements for a provocative and moving painting.
My Working Process
When beginning a seascape, I tone a canvas with a wash of ultramarine blue and block in the general shapes of the painting with a bristle brush. I use ultramarine blue and viridian green for water, and titanium white for breaking waves, floating foam and sky. At this point, I begin to develop the halftones. Then I work on the highlights in the lit areas and dark accents in the shadows.
Contact Details
Email: dbuckbinder@gmail.com
Website: davidbuckbinderartist.com
Meditations, oil on linen panel, 35 x 45" (88 x 114 cm)Paula B. Holtzclaw
North Carolina, USA
My Inspiration
I am continually inspired by the rhythms of the sea and the beauty of a coastline. Highlights of my childhood always consisted of our family trips to the beach. That tradition and love of the ocean has continued throughout my life. Never weary or tired of another trip to the coast, I find these times to be restorative and rejuvenating. Greeted by the sounds and gentle sway of the incoming tide, the beauty of the evening sunset was a meditative moment and time for acknowledging gratitude.
My Design Strategy
I knew immediately that I wanted to capture and preserve this moment. The ebb and flow at water’s edge, the ripples of water and the subtle changing of currents were all notations I wanted to portray. Even though the sunset was certainly a focal point, I wanted those details to be a large part of the painting. To do justice to this magnificent scene, I chose to go large and horizontal.
My Working Process
My substrate was a Claessens linen on panel. I prefer a panel with a bit of tooth to grab the paint as opposed to a very fine portrait linen. I laid down a thin wash of transparent paint (Indian yellow and red oxide) mixed with a bit of Gamsol. I first established my horizon line, dedicating more space to the bottom half of the canvas since I wanted the shallow water detailed in the foreground. I built up the other areas equally with several layers before adding the final highlights to the water.
Contact Details
Email: pbhfineart@aol.com
Website: paulabholtzclawfineart.com
Moody Sea, oil on canvas, 16 x 24" (40 x 60 cm)Aflatun Israilov
Baku, Azerbaijan
My Inspiration
The Moody Sea painting was inspired by the ever-changing nature of the Caspian Sea. The contrast between the turbulent waves and the quiet moments of calm deeply resonates with me. This piece captures the raw power and beauty of water, its shifting moods and the dynamic interplay between strength and serenity in nature’s vast expanse.
My Design Strategy
In this piece, I wanted to create a sense of tranquility while capturing the natural rhythm of the sea. The repetitive rolling waves extending toward the horizon provide a calming effect, while the subtle contrast between the foam at the shore and the deeper water further draws the viewer’s eye across the canvas. The overcast sky complements the muted tones of the water, creating a unified and serene atmosphere.
My Working Process
Before picking up a brush, I immerse myself in the subject, connecting with it on a deeper level. Once I feel the scene, I start establishing the composition, laying broad strokes for the horizon, water and shoreline. Gradually, I build layers of color to add depth to the sea and sky, carefully applying texture to the foam. The drying stages allow for a balanced combination of movement and stillness, evoking both calm and dynamic energy.
Contact Details
Email: contact@aflatunisrailov.com
Website: aflatunisrailov.com