Congratulations to all the artists of Wild Art Open 2024! This year's artists tapped into mystery, environment, and story to give us an eclectic, yet cohesive, collection of contemporary wildlife art.
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 Elyssa Helfman.
Awards: Best in Show, Overall Runner Up, Artivism Award, Overall Honorable Mentions, and Finalists.
Click on an image below to enlarge it.
BEST IN SHOW
Hunter's Refuge, by Joe Christensen 22 x 28 inches, Colored pencils.
From the artist, "The jaguar, the jungle's most powerful hunter, rests in the river and cool shade from the Amazon canopy."
Mystery, depth, softness, and crisp surprise create a story of balance and intrigue here. The rhythms of the lines of the plant stalks are softened by the curving leaf shapes. Diagonals are countered by verticals and horizontals to move the eye through the artwork at a controlled pace. We get to circle in to the jaguar on a path of warm and cool greens that give us alternating peace and tension. It sets the mood perfectly for this piece.
OVERALL RUNNER UP
Nature's Blend, by Louise Renée
20 x 24 inches, Soft Pastel on sanded paper
From the artist, "The sunlight brought out colours that you have never guessed were there, just like the elk camouflaged so well in the woods. I exaggerated the colours to enhance the deep connection I felt between the elk and the forest."
This explosion of color and shape yells with the vitality of the forest. The colors are loud enough to hear, vibrating off the page. Selective blurriness and a range of controlled neutrals keep all this saturation from overpowering the composition. That elk is alive on that paper.
ARTIVISM AWARD
Uprising, by Sennen Powell 41 cm x 30 cm, Pencil and white paper
From the artist, "I like obscure storytelling with wildlife art. This is a dystopian alter reality where Curlews declare an uprising to avenge their ecological destruction by humanity. The main figure is base of a Curlew but stylised."
The raw and unedited nature of this drawing adds to the power of the statement.
OVERALL HONORABLE MENTIONS
Congratulations to our Overall Honorable Mention winners, Jenn Cunningham, Lisa Savard, Jessica de Rover, Peg Weschke, Danguole Serstinskaja, Timea Bozsoky, Kate Citrin, and Tracy Warner.
FINALISTS
Congratulations to our award Finalists, Sally Clark, Kimberley Di Penta, Susan Wehrman, Susan Munderich, Raluca Bararu, Jill Crowley, Ariana Zimmermann, Chandan Mahanta, Susan Wehrman, Kimberley Di Penta, Vesela Sultanova, Connor Read, Eleazar Herrera, Zoltan Boros, Sarah Wellington, Lilith Divine, Erin Anderson, and Gray Davidson.
Best in Show for Wild Art Open 2024 receives $250 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).
Overall Runner Up for Masters of Wildlife Art 2024 receives $50 cash award and the below:
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 Elyssa Helfman.