Member Feature: Rebecca Wang and her Celtic Horse

Celtic Horse teeshirt -- original art by Rebecca Wang

(available for sale HERE)

Rebecca says of her piece in her description:

Although I title this "Celtic Horse", it is more of a Celtic-inspired horse, with spiral designs. You can call it a spiral tribal design or even a zentangle design if you want.

She is one of our featured artists for awhile on our group page HERE. 

You can also buy archival prints and other products in this design HERE. 

Here is what her piece looks like framed:

note: the copyright watermark in lower right will not appear in the actual image.

Framed prints are available HERE. Use drop-downs to get the right size, 

color of the frame, and color of mat.

Some other featured pieces will be highlighted as time permits. Thank you for viewing. 

Fantasy Castles winners

Castles in the Clouds by David Griffith

(available for sale HERE)

FIRST PLACE tie with Ali Oppy

Floating Kingdom by Ali Oppy

(available for sale HERE)

FIRST PLACE tie with David Griffith

The Fine Art America way of running contests is to award first prize to the under-dog that pulled ahead at the last moment, even though he tied with another member. However, these two artists both received the same number of votes, so they both tied for first place as far as placement is concerned. So they are both being featured.

And in fact, these are also the two artists' who are featured in our banner art above. Their work is also consistently recognizable.

Both of these castles have a dreamy atmospheric quality to them with much of the same sort of background color palette. They are both relatively symmetrical pieces as well. All of this, plus their expertise at creating detailed interesting images may have contributed to putting their pieces on top.

David Griffith is a master of digital art. In his description he tells how he made his piece using several thousand components:

This castle was created in Bryce v4 and is constructed entirely of cubes, cones, cylinders and I believe three spheres. This is not a model and there are no parts or pieces of models anywhere in it ... there were several thousand individual elements used in its construction.

~ David Griffith

Ali Oppy is also a master of digital art and her signature pieces tend to be dreamy, feminine, fairy-like and monochromatic with a lot of details. 

This castle is a little less monochromatic than her other work, but the color palette seems to be carefully chosen in terms of letting three colors dominate the image-making: grays, greens and rust. If you look closely at the piece, you will notice that the rust areas are "the creatures": notably a hooded figure with an insect-like creature at his (or her) feet, and a dragon off in the distance on the other side of the castle. 

The originality of the concept of a kingdom floating around with moons, stars and planets probably put this piece on top too, in terms of "fantasy" -- we are all about fantasy art after all.

Ali says of her piece: 

What a place to be your own kingdom floating around the solar system

~ Ali Oppy

Here are some ideas for framing possibilities for these two pieces:

Ali Oppy's Floating Kingdom framed

(framed prints are available for sale HERE)

choose frames and mats using the drop-downs on the right of the image

This frame is GL8 with a manor white mat

David Griffith's Castles in the Clouds framed

(framed prints are available for sale HERE)

choose frames and mats using the drop-downs on the right of the image

This frame is PLC8 with olde gray mat

Here is what these two pieces look like as pillows:

Castle in the Clouds as a pillow

(pillows available HERE)

background colors are adjustable. This one is #546783

Floating Kingdom as a pillow

(pillows available HERE)

background colors are adjustable. This one is #686868

Next up are our second place winners (also ties) and a third place winner (another piece by Ali Oppy), and one honorable mention:

The Forbidden Palace by Richard Hescox

(available for sale HERE)

SECOND PLACE tie with Bonnie Cook and Elenarts - Elena Duvernay

Castle by Night - 3D Render by  Elenarts - Elena Duvernay

(available for sale HERE)

SECOND PLACE tie with Richard Hescox and Bonnie Cook

King's Garden by Bonnie Cook

(available for sale HERE)

SECOND PLACE tie with Richard Hescox and Elenarts - Elena Duvernay

The Dragon's Castle by Ali Oppy

(available for sale HERE)

THIRD PLACE

The honorable mention goes to:

Misty Morning at Castle Ruins by Natalia Rudzina

(available for sale HERE)

Link to our group, Fantasy Art for Home and Office

On our discussions page we list by category if you are looking for a specific kind of fantasy art. 

The art contest and all of the pieces entered are THROUGH THIS LINK.

Thanks for reading. Our next contest is "The Weirdest, Most Bizarre Fantasy Art Creatures". That one will be decided on March 26th, so come back to see some of those creations! (note and edit: this contest took place and is available for viewing HERE).

Fantasy Art Members Spotlight winners, plus showcase of some of our other members

Into the Bog by Jeremy Martinson

FIRST PLACE SPOTLIGHT

(this piece is available for sale HERE)

This was a "juried contest" of our members (Fantasy Art for Home and Office group). It was a chance to spotlight our members and it was difficult to choose among so many great images. So many of them are simply excellent and I think it defines the type of talent in the group.

So this post is largely about highlighting some of our artists from the group, with some picks for first, second and third place in the contest. These picks are largely subjective and based on originality as I was accostomed to do when I worked as a curator in NY. 

Because choosing was so difficult, and because originality was in abundance (it is a fantasy art group, after all!). I focused on works, for this go-round, of styles, sentiments and ways of working that I hadn't seen before, or hadn't seen much of. Of course, there were more than the three top winners that also came very close, so I kept going, revealing the process of choosing.

Jeremy Martinson was my pick for first place because I hadn't come across this style of fantasy art in my art explorations and knowledge of "contemporary art history". The combinations presented in the piece (newspaper hats, soft modeling of the boat, lighting, treatment of water, serpent like being wrapped around the boy's stick) were entirely new for me.

It also seemed evocative of a fairy tale, very fitting for fantasy art.

And indeed, Jeremy Martinson made a fairy tale to go along with the piece. In his description he writes:

Their adventure had begun when they accidently stumbled upon a forest meeting of the fae. To elude capture by the faery king and forever be trapped in the magical realm of the fae, they had to escape. Befriending a gnome, with the promise of candy if they were successful, they made their escape. Snipperpop the gnome warned the boys, that the only way home would be through the swamp, and that it was dangerous. He agreed to help guide them if only for a little extra candy and perhaps some bubble gum. So they went, with Snipperpop, into the bog...

Following are some framing possibilities for this piece. You can find framed prints HERE and then choose from the drop-downs which frames and mats fit your fancy.

This one is a simple black frame (444BKS) with a white mat:

This one is another black frame (GG1) with some gold trim and a white mat:

This next one is in the gold category. It is brown with a gold braided trim (G) with a manor white mat: 

This is what it looks like in a pillow design:

When ordering pillows, you can use the slider to adjust the picture size.

Pillows found HERE

Jeremy's piece will also be featured on our side panel for two months.

We also have a second place winner and a third place winner:

This is a digital collage. The originality of the headdress (as a shell), the lovely monochromatic coloring, the slow emerging of the figure, and even the background are given a lot of detail and thought. One thing about Ali's work is that it is recognizable anywhere: 

Wish on a Pearl by Ali Oppy

SECOND PLACE SPOTLIGHT

(this piece is available for sale HERE)


The simplicity of the message, sort of pop art-like treatment and the originality of including a planet in the background put this piece on top for me: 

Puppy Love by Marvin Blaine
THIRD PLACE SPOTLIGHT
(this piece is for sale HERE)

These were some of the runner ups. These were too good not to show here -- and some of them were hard to let go of for the top 3 (and I did struggle with the decision):

The originality of this next piece struck me, the swirl tree, the rendering of the figures and the somewhat Bosch-like "underworld" feeling:

Naked and Afraid by Hans Neuhart
(available for sale HERE)

The next two, painted by Richard Hescox, have some unusual and unexpected occurrences happening in foreground or background, and it seems to be a signature of his style. These are some of the finest fantasy art pieces I have seen anywhere:

Lady of the Waters by Richard Hescox

(available for sale HERE)

Dream Clouds by Richard Hescox

(available for sale HERE)

This next piece by Mike Savad was in the running too. Although I have seen pigs flying in other art pieces, I have not seen them in a plane like this, with a picture of a man with a clown-like nose on the side of it. The rendering was also excellent!  

Flying Pig - Plane - The Joy Ride by Mike Savad

(available for sale HERE)

Who wouldn't be enchanted by this piece? It is the cliff hard-edged waterfall in the ancient world of boats, that makes this piece original:

Parallelism by Psycho Shadow

(available for sale HERE)

This piece was hard to pass up too. All of those other-worldly objects in the sky! To me this was reminiscent of both Kandinsky and Bosch, but it has an originality all his own: 

Spring Vibrations by Vasko Taskovski
(available for sale HERE)

This next piece by David Griffith, although more traditional-style fantasy art, was in the running too as it is so well done, with a lot of details from the fire, the carving in the fireplace, the oriental-like carpet, the grainy floors, all with fantasy art creatures:

 The Library by David Griffith
(available for sale HERE)

The following pieces weren't in the running, but so many of them were so well done that it was impossible to leave them out of this post.

This piece was excellently done with lighting effects on the tiger (and I liked the sentiment too):

The Protector by Davandra Cribbie
(available for sale HERE)

Here are some of the more traditional fantasy art pieces that caught my eye:

Maiden of the Forest by Sharon Lisa Clarke

(available for sale HERE)

Poseidon by Henryk Gorecki

(available for sale HERE)

Nightglow by Putterhug Studio
(available for sale HERE)

Reading About Dragons by Daniel Eskridge

(available for sale HERE)

Talking to the Rabbit by Louloua Asgari
(available for sale HERE)

Pond Fairy by Sherry Shipley
(available for sale HERE)

And of course, these were too much fun to leave out:

Mistress of Dragons by Brian Wallace
(available for sale HERE)

Alien Waterscape by Brian Wallace
(available for sale HERE)

jury and curator for this round: Lise Winne

Other jurors will be chosen for other contests for our group, so that there is a level playing field.

Thanks for reading, and until the next time ...

Steampunk and Victorian Fantasy Art winners

Everlong by Putterhug Studio

FIRST PLACE

(this piece is available for sale HERE)

note: the "Fine Art America" watermark does not appear in actual products

Putterhug Studio remarks that this piece was inspired by "Everlong" and the Foo Fighters and muse, Peechez. It was created in PSPX3 and processed in PSE9.

Featured are a clock, gears, feathers, a red table, a writing pen with a black feather, an unusual lamp and a model dressed in Steampunk attire.

The next picture is what the piece would look like as a framed print. In this version, I have chosen a black frame with an inside gold trim (RR4 in the drop-down ) and an off-white mat (mist mat in the drop-down). Framed prints are available HERE:

  

Here is another framed print in a simple black frame (GG1) and the manor white mat (look through drop-downs):

Here is one of the products you can buy in this design (a phone case):

We have two second place winners. They ran a tie:

Brown Eyed Girl by Autumn Moon

SECOND PLACE TIE

(this piece for sale HERE)

Featured is a girl with big eyes and steampunk attire. Here is another:

Pale Steampunk by Jane Schnetlage

SECOND PLACE TIE

(this piece for sale HERE)

For third place we have three winners:

from left to right:

L: Seven Sharp by Shauna Eggleston

M: Cephalopod Dancers by Katherine Nutt

R: Dark Steampunk by Jane Schnetlage 

click here to view more about this contest

Until next time ...

Fantasy Art Imaginary Creatures Winners

Star Birth by Lucie Bilodeau

FIRST PLACE
(this piece is available for sale HERE)

In her description Lucie Bilodeau writes that her piece is about "a fairy creating stars".

This piece features a white lion lying in a bed of flowers with a fairy on his back with stars in the palm of her hand. Also featured are butterflies and a forest.

The next picture is what her piece looks like as a framed print. This one is in a cream colored mat with a copper and brown type frame. Her framed prints are available HERE (you can choose a number of colors on the frames and mats in the drop-downs): 

  

Here is another framed print, available in a white and gold frame and a white mat:

Here is one of the products you can buy in pillow format, available for sale HERE. This is with a purple background. You can choose background colors. This one is purple: #7c668d

The next one is a tote bag, available for sale in a number of sizes HERE. The background color is also customize-able (this one is #d9d2b5):

Our second place winner is also a piece by Lucie Bilodeau:

Star Birth by Lucie Bilodeau

SECOND PLACE

(this piece is available for sale HERE)

Featured is a fairy with a blue flower. She is among other blue flowers, a lady bug and butterflies.

Our third place winners had a tie between Sgn and Jutta Maria Pusl:

This is Sgn's piece:

When it Rains in Scarborough by Sgn

THIRD PLACE (tied)

(the piece is available for sale HERE)

This is Jutta Maria Pusl's piece:

Whimsical Wonderland by Jutta Maria Pusl

THIRD PLACE (tied)

(the piece is available for sale HERE)

Click here to view more about this contest.