OPEN
SEPTEMBER 2025
BEST IN SHOW
JAY JOHANSEN
**SAPPHIRE ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2024**
* ECHOES OF POWELL STREET *
Acrylic
“My art explores identity, emotion and legacy. Through portraits I capture not just likeness but essence, using bold palettes and textures to evoke nostalgia, intrigue and reflection inviting viewers to connect with deeper stories. Legacy, history & experience — that’s what makes the story telling, by way of oil & acrylic mediums — approachable, relevant & enduring.” — JAY JOHANSEN
GOLDEN TRIO AWARD
LIANE BEDARD
* BLOOM WHERE THE PEARS ARE * * A SPRINKLE OF THIS * * THE THINGS I WISH I SAID *
Transparent watercolour
“I have long had a love affair with transparent watercolour.
The magic of building up colour while maintaining luminosity thrills me and this slow layering process, combined with detailed drawing, is my meditation. I am interested in exploring the play of sunlight and the patterns it creates in everyday life. By focusing on capturing the transient sunshine, particularly in early morning or late afternoon, compelling compositions are found and I am inspired to pay tribute to the fleeting moments we all see, but pass by so quickly.” — LIANE BEDARD
GOLDEN TRIO AWARD
NORMA RUFFINELLI
**CRYSTAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2024**
DIAMOND AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
JOHN DIEPHOUSE
**RUBY ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2024**
**CRYSTAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2023**
* EARLY CHICAGO MORNING *
Photography
“I'm a self-taught photographer and digital collage artist and am attracted to a variety of subjects, from natural landscapes, botanicals and wildlife to images that provide either abstract expression or social commentary. I'm interested in sharing images that evoke a story of some kind.
Images may be simply documentary, reflect a sense of time and place or resonate on a more abstract level of color, shape or form. Others provoke an indefinable question that does not readily yield answers without further study and reflection.” — JOHN DIEPHOUSE
DIAMOND AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
LINDA MCCORD
**SAPPHIRE ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2022**
* CONTRACTION *
Acrylic
“What The Night Reveals is a series of acrylic pours inspired by the mysteries that awaken after dusk. Flowing layers of paint form luminous shapes and shifting textures, echoing the hidden beauty and quiet energy of night. My process balances freedom and control allowing paint to move unpredictably while guiding its rhythm — mirroring the way night both conceals and illuminates. Each piece reflects the secrets, stillness and sparks of light that darkness unveils.” — LINDA MCCORD
DIAMOND AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
MARJORIE MOSKOWITZ
* SWEET PEA *
Oil
“My current oil paintings of colorful, engaging but otherwise overlooked and isolated flora are magnified to reveal their importance. My subject matter is discovered from remote to obvious locations across the country. Coming from an orientation in abstraction, my choice to work in a close-focus, hyper-realistic style remains ever mindful of the abstraction that exists in nature. These paintings examine mark making and the nuances of color and light in nature. This process involves the close observation of many aspects of landscape and the amplification of these images. They magnify a moment in time and in nature, when plants are at the peak of their reproductive cycle and are fully asserting their seductive beauty/perfection/ splendor/ripeness. The focus has been on select blooms to show the importance of their smallest components.” — MARJORIE MOSKOWITZ
EMERALD AWARD
KENNETH RICCI
* A DIFFERENT GAME *
Cut/paste paper collage
"I work in a sort of literary/philosophical framework so within that context my reference points are the parables of Kafka and the aphorisms of Kierkegaard. Because elements determine content, the process of creation is both constrained and liberated by the available elements at any given time and it is the improvised procedure of choice, assembly and judgment that settles the argument" — KENNETH RICCI
RUBY AWARD
MARK KAUFMAN
* WOMAN WITH HAT IN CHAIR *
Watercolour
“I paint the female figure in sometimes absurd, sometimes haunting locations. Far from creating emotionless, family portraits, I blend color and imagery to explore themes of mythology, literature, philosophy and emotion. I choose watercolor as a medium because it is fluid and sometimes serendipitous.” — MARK KAUFMAN
SAPPHIRE AWARD
GABRIELE GRACINE
**EMERALD ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2021**
CRYSTAL AWARD
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AWARD OF MERIT
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HONOURABLE MENTION
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**WINNERS VIDEO**