Once again, we would like to thank all of the artists that entered and shared their work and their artistic passion with us. It was such a pleasure to immerse ourselves in the work of so many creatives, working across varied mediums and styles, and reading their stories.

Thank you & Acknowledgements

Beautiful Bizarre Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Danijela Krha Purssey has the pleasure of curating each issue of the magazine and our exhibitions. The Art Prize entries will continue to give her a plethora of new ideas and choices to pursue in future. So thank you again for your interest in the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize, we very much hope to see how your work has grown and developed in next year’s Prize.

We would also like to sincerely thank the 2024 Jury Panel: particularly the Digital Art Category Judge Karla Ortiz, who gave her time and expertise to the panel. Additionally, I warmly thank the other Category Judges: Michael Parkes (Traditional Art juror), Kirsty Mitchell (Photography juror) and Erika Sanada (Sculpture juror), as well as the Directors of Modern Eden Gallery, Kim Larson & Bradley Platz.

To our major sponsors: Tracey Maigne & Keeley Gerard, Owners and Directors of Musonium Gallery; 33PA‘s CEO, Marketing Director & Curator, Didi Menendez; RAYMAR President & Creative Director, Emilie Dietrich; Yasha Young Projects Founder Yasha Young; and the Owner & Art Director of BearWolf Books, Catherine K. Gyllerstrom – our deepest gratitude for supporting this year’s Prize. It is through your support and generosity that the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize is able to acknowledge and uplift so many incredible artists and photographers from around the world.

As always a huge thanks to the Beautiful Bizarre team for their dedication and hard work on behalf of the prize and winners all-year round, and of course to my partner, Beautiful Bizarre Magazine‘s Co-Founder Richard Purssey.

Our sincere thanks to this year’s Digital Art Award sponsors listed below. It is through their generosity that the Digital Art Award Winners will be able to enrich their practice.

Digital Art Award

The Digital Art Award 1st prize winner will receive:

• $3,000 USD cash generously donated by Platinum sponsors.
• USD$375 cash, plus a US$375 gift card to use at GelaSkins.com, and the opportunity to have a collection with the brand, all generously donated by GelaSkins. GelaSkins create artist-designed premium cases and skins, supporting independent artists since 2005.
• Artist Pro 16 (Gen 2), generously donated by XPPen. XPPen is a globally notable brand celebrating digital art innovation, providing digital drawing products, content and services to encourage artists to pursue their dreams and authentic self-expression.
• Rebelle 7 Pro, plus US$60 worth of additional Paper, Canvases and Other Art Surfaces, generously donated by Escape Motions. Rebelle is the award-winning, hyper-realistic painting software with paint pigments colour mixing, oil thickness, watercolour diffusion and NanoPixel technology, which convincingly mimics the way natural media interact with the canvas and itself.
• A 24-month license to Clip Studio Paint EX, generously donated by Celsys. Clip Studio Paint is the digital artist’s app for drawing and painting anything from character and concept art to fine art illustration, and even professional animation. All of the powerful features are available on all major platforms to explore at home or on the go.
• A beautiful, specially commissioned glass art award trophy.
• The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery, in San Francisco, USA, alongside 70+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists.
• Exposure to a successful commercial gallery’s collector base with the opportunity to sell their work.
• 3 month social media advertising package (Beautiful Bizarre Magazine: 1 million+ followers across all social platforms).
• Winning artwork printed in the December 2024 issue of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, as part of the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize editorial.
• Exclusive in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine websites + shared across Beautiful Bizarre Magazine social media.
• Profile listing [including artwork gallery] on the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory for 12 months. The go-to platform for artists, curators and collectors to discover exceptional artists and explore their work.
• A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

2nd prize winner will receive:

• $1,000 USD cash, generously donated by Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.
• Artist Pro 14 (Gen 2)generously donated by XPPen. XPPen is a globally notable brand celebrating digital art innovation, providing digital drawing products, content and services to encourage artists to pursue their dreams and authentic self-expression.
• Rebelle 7 Pro, generously donated by Escape Motions. Rebelle is the award-winning, hyper-realistic painting software with paint pigments colour mixing, oil thickness, watercolour diffusion and NanoPixel technology, which convincingly mimics the way natural media interact with the canvas and itself.
• A 12-month license to Clip Studio Paint EX, generously donated by Celsys. Clip Studio Paint is the digital artist’s app for drawing and painting anything from character and concept art to fine art illustration, and even professional animation. All of the powerful features are available on all major platforms to explore at home or on the go.
• The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery, in San Francisco, USA, alongside 70+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists.
• Exposure to a successful commercial gallery’s collector base with the opportunity to sell their work.
• Exclusive in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine websites + shared across Beautiful Bizarre Magazine social media.
• Profile listing [including artwork gallery] on the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Artist Directory for 12 months. The go-to platform for artists, curators and collectors to discover exceptional artists and explore their work.
• A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

3rd prize winner will receive:

• $500 USD cash, generously donated by Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.
• Deco Pro (Gen2) XLW generously donated by XPPen. XPPen is a globally notable brand celebrating digital art innovation, providing digital drawing products, content and services to encourage artists to pursue their dreams and authentic self-expression.
• Rebelle 7 Pro, generously donated by Escape Motions. Rebelle is the award-winning, hyper-realistic painting software with paint pigments colour mixing, oil thickness, watercolour diffusion and NanoPixel technology, which convincingly mimics the way natural media interact with the canvas and itself.
• A 12-month license to Clip Studio Paint PRO, generously donated by Celsys. Clip Studio Paint is the digital artist’s app for drawing and painting anything from character and concept art to fine art illustration, and even professional animation. All of the powerful features are available on all major platforms to explore at home or on the go.
• The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery, in San Francisco, USA, alongside 70+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists.
• Exposure to a successful commercial gallery’s collector base with the opportunity to sell their work.
• Exclusive in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine websites + shared across Beautiful Bizarre Magazine social media.
• Profile listing [including artwork gallery] on the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Artist Directory for 12 months. The go-to platform for artists, curators and collectors to discover exceptional artists and explore their work.
• A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

The Winners in each Award category and the Musonium Grand Prize Award Winner will be invited to participate in ‘Paracosmic Escape’ exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco, United States later this year, alongside 70+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists! ‘Paracosmic Escape’ is an international group exhibition Curated by: Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, with Art Direction/Theme Conceptualization by: Musonium Gallery.

‘Paracosmic Escape’ explores themes of retrospection, introspection, and complex relationships with the real world, where internal gateways offer a place of sanctuary to heal from and provide explanation to the effects of reality. ~ Keeley Gerard (Art Director of Musonium Gallery)

Congratulations to the 2024 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize Digital Art Award Winners: Siana, VZEWL, and Tristan Elwell!

3rd Prize Winner

Siana Park

Currently resides: USA

“Epilogue of A Tragedy” (Photoshop)

Siana Sunghee Park is an illustrator/concept artist based in Los Angeles. She is originally from South Korea and studied in San Francisco. After focusing on using traditional medium such as charcoal, watercolor and oil at the Academy of Art University, she developed a digital art portfolio and has been working in the entertainment industry since 2014.

“Epilogue of A Tragedy”: Not all love story have perfect happy endings. When the most tragic plot unfolds the noble lady chose the worst ending for herself. A golden goblet filled with poisoned wine, that is now flowing into her throat and to the knight’s, will soon be dropped onto the ground covered with debris, leaving echos of clanging sound. The knight, however, is in complete peace. Accepting the impending death, it is also what he’s chosen, and it is his best choice. Is this a sad ending? Or would you say it’s a happy ending?

2nd Prize Winner

VZEWL

Currently resides: Canada

“The Bee’s Knees” (Created in DAZ Studio and Blender. Rendered with Cycles)

VZEWL, Pronounced visual, is a 30 year old 3D Artist from Ontario, Canada. They began their 3D journey at the age of 13 and have been creating ever since. Primarily self-taught, they have honed their craft over the years, especially in the realm of portraiture, where their characters convey deep emotions and complex feelings. VZEWL grapples with emotional struggles, and finds that expressing these through their artwork provides a powerful way to communicate their inner experiences to others. “When I create, I cease to be myself. I don’t like my own work. But I know that VZEWL does. It is an interesting dichotomy that I have really enjoyed observing. It helps that I have an absolute fascination with psychology, and I think that those things go hand in hand quite nicely.”

“The Bee’s Knees”: Anything taken literally can be strange. Idioms and metaphors casually tossed about without any consideration for the objective meanings. Subtlety and nuance are very complex and without relative context, can sometimes go completely unnoticed. Surrealistically looking at a literal interpretation hopefully provokes an intrigued hesitation the next time you use one.

1st Prize Winner

Tristan Elwell

Currently resides: USA

“Inversion” (Photoshop)

Tristan Elwell is a New York based illustrator working in publishing, advertising, editorial, and games. He has done book covers for all the major publishing houses, including Avon, Bantam, HarperCollins, Penguin, Pocket Books, Scholastic, and Tor. His work has appeared in Print, Communication Arts, the Society of Illustrators Annuals, and Spectrum, and has been exhibited at the Society of Illustrators, the Art Director’s Club, the United Nations, and galleries in New York, California, and Europe. He has won the Chesley Award for best paperback cover and been nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist. Tristan lives in the Hudson Valley and teaches drawing, painting, and illustration at the School of Visual Arts.

“Inversion”: Inversion is part of a series depicting figures and their animal avatars in an isolated setting, often on high-wires or other elevated environments. I am strongly influenced by the Symbolists and Decadents of the late 19th century such as Félicien Rops, Fernand Khnopff, and Franz von Stuck.

The 2024 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize
is proudly sponsored by

PALLADIUM SPONSOR

PLATINUM SPONSORS

GOLD SPONSORS
     

SILVER SPONSORS

BRONZE SPONSORS

MEDIA PARTNERS

ACADEMIC PARTNERS

The post 2024 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize: Digital Art Award Winners Announced! appeared first on Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

Farnoosh Doroudgar is an Iranian Artist and Model, born and raised in Tehran, Iran known for the project The Atlas of Beauty since 2017. She has been interested in painting since childhood and pursuing painting seriously since she was 24 years old. Digital painting was a revolutionary road in her career and it enabled her to portray everything she had in mind in a new way.

Farnoush thinks that Digital Art per se is capable of expressing art on a deeper level and provides so many opportunities to demonstrate one’s own imagination which is rare in any other forms and mediums in art, so that she can influence the surrounding people with it.

As a middle eastern woman and Artist dealing with many difficulties such as international sanctions toward us, the most concern living in Iran for me in recent years was to be an advocate of her people, and she have always sought this issue to demonstrate their inner feelings and emotions throughout my work.

Farnoosh Doroudgar’s works mainly demonstrates womens issues and her concerns in the form of a hero’s journey. She always gets inspired by the greatest artists from the renaissance era such as Botticeli, Da Vinci and Persian’s such as Ali akbar Sadeghi. Her obsession with details and flourish settings comes from both western and eastern art. Her mission and aim as an artist is to portray the beauty and difficulties of a woman’s life specially Persian women who’ve been struggling during their lifetime.

Join cutting-edge artists from around the world

The Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory is a powerful tool for artists looking to grow their visibility, and connect with fellow artists, curators and collectors. To join the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory click here for more information.

Farnoosh Doroudgar Social Media Accounts

 Instagram

The post Artist Directory: Farnoosh Doroudgar appeared first on Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

Now, it is your opportunity to have a voice: help us to determine the winner of the 2024 Catherine K. Gyllerstrom People’s Choice Award!

Make your voice heard – vote for your favourite artworks today!

The Musonium Grand Prize Award Winner of the 2024 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize, along with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Prize Winners of each Award category, Honourable Mentions, and the Winner of this year’s Catherine K. Gyllerstrom People’s Choice Award will all be announced in mid September, after the Catherine K. Gyllerstrom People’s Choice Award voting closes at midnight 6 September [Australian Eastern Standard Time].

7 Honourable Mentions will also be awarded by this year’s sponsors in their respective Award category, plus the Directors of Modern Eden Gallery and Danijela Krha Purssey, the Editor-in-Chief of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, will also choose one outstanding work to receive an Honourable Mention.

Catherine K. Gyllerstrom People’s Choice Award

Who do you think should win the 2024 Catherine K. Gyllerstrom People’s Choice Award? Let your voice be heard – vote for your favourite artworks from the 150 Finalists today! Everyone is invited to participate.

The People’s Choice Award winner will receive:

• $2,000 USD cash, generously donated by Catherine K. Gyllerstrom, Collector, Art Consultant, Owner & Art Director of BearWolf Books, an independent publishing house that specializes in Illustrated Fantasy, Mythology, and Stories for Young Readers.
• Deco Pro (Gen2) MW, generously donated by XPPen. XPPen is a globally notable brand celebrating digital art innovation, providing digital drawing products, content and services to encourage artists to pursue their dreams and authentic self-expression.
• A 12-month license to Clip Studio Paint PRO, generously donated by Celsys. Clip Studio Paint is the digital artist’s app for drawing and painting anything from character and concept art to fine art illustration, and even professional animation. All of the powerful features are available on all major platforms to explore at home or on the go.
• 12 month social media advertising package (Beautiful Bizarre Magazine: 1 million+ followers across all social media platforms).
• Exclusive in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine websites + shared across Beautiful Bizarre Magazine social media.
• Profile listing [including artwork gallery] on the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory for 12 months. The go-to platform for artists, curators and collectors to discover exceptional artists and explore their work.
• A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.
• Plus most importantly, receive worldwide exposure for their practice.

Timeline

• 23 August [AEDT, Australian Eastern Daylight Time]: Catherine K. Gyllerstrom People’s Choice voting opened
• 6 September [Australian Eastern Standard Time]: Catherine K. Gyllerstrom People’s Choice voting closes
• Week of the 13th of September: Winners announced
• 13 Sept: 33PA Emerging Artist Award Winners Announced
• 16 Sept: Yasha Young Projects Sculpture Award Winners announced
• 17 Sept: Photography Award Winners announced
• 18 Sept: Digital Art Award Winners announced
• 19 Sept: RAYMAR Traditional Art Award Winners announced
• 20 Sept: Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize Musonium Grand Prize Award Winner, Honourable Mentions & Catherine K. Gyllerstrom People’s Choice Award announced
• 9 November – 5 December 2024: Group exhibition ‘Paracosmic Escape’ opens at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco, USA. ‘Paracosmic Escape’ is an international group exhibition Curated by: Beautiful Bizarre Magazine with Art Direction/Theme Conceptualization by: Musonium Gallery. Winners are invited to participate.

The post Catherine K. Gyllerstrom People’s Choice Award Voting – Now Open! appeared first on Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

The concept is simple: to get back to the roots of direct communication. You ask a (preferably genuine, from the soul) question, you get a (no holds barred, brutally honest) answer from their oracles, made up of their highly experienced coaches and mentors.

For this to work, Quarantine Events has thrown social media far out of the picture. They have returned to a delectable source of communication void of third-party control and data scraping. They have returned to the ever-surviving form of the bespoke newsletter. And that’s right – it’s free! Get ready for the Brutally Honest Oracle answering your artistic questions every fortnight.

The twist

Of course, this wouldn’t be Quarantine Events without a twist. At the heart of their incentive to provide a safe space where questions can be answered with truth, there lies an “indispensable quality for this oracle to work”: the answers must all be anonymous.

Each question chosen promises to be answered by one or more oracles, allowing artists to receive multiple points of view. Sometimes contradictory, always opening the mind, the anonymous oracles promise to give you their informed advice based on years of expertise.

You will never know who’s on the other side of the crystal ball. If you knew which mentor was responding, the oracle would be corrupted, just like social media.

Why the anonymity?

If you have managed to go through life using the internet and never once been on the receiving end of some unwarranted offence, you are one of the rare few. From people being ridiculed for asking genuine questions to response videos based on someone else’s response video, the internet – and especially social media – is often a knotted loop of knee-jerk opinions and ego topped with a sprinkling of finely distributed unnecessary criticism.

There are, of course, well maintained “safe spaces”; closely monitored online communities with rules and regulations to instil order and security. These can be shining beacons for like-minded individuals and provide positive experiences. But there will always be capacity for uninvited voices to ruin the vibe within any public platform where genuine conversations may be trying to take place. In the world of social media, every piece of ourselves that we put out there is laid bare for others to do with as they wish. It can be vulnerable and draining. But there is another way. As the Quarantine Events team put it: “email lets us keep our dignity”.

This anonymity also works both ways; those asking the questions can also stay anonymous when submitting. The beauty is that this concept focuses on what matters most: the exchange of knowledge.

There’ll be delightful chaos, contradiction, and paradox. It’s an Oracle! But answers will always be informed and from the experienced.

What kind of questions can be asked?

While artists are encouraged to use their common sense when drafting questions, there is no limit to what – or how many questions – can be asked. “An honest answer requires an honest question. So, be brutally sincere.” Suggests Carles Gomila, Artist & Quarantine Events Director.

“Ask anything about using fear and vulnerability to make art. Anything about the creative process. Anything about how to be an artist. Anything about art education… Just don’t be annoying, and use common sense.” Says their handy FAQ.

The team will be grouping answers for the Brutally Honest Oracle by theme, so with Oracles giving their answers every fortnight, you may have to be patient. Rest assured, however, that each newsletter will have plenty to inspire you.

You don’t need to ask a question to be a part of the Quarantine Events Community

If you’re feeling apprehensive about getting involved, it’s important to remember that the Quarantine team welcome all curious creatives. You don’t even need to input a question to enjoy the Oracle newsletter; just sign up via their website and wait for the fun to glide into your inbox! From exploring self-identity neurosis to career advice and everything in between, the Brutally Honest Oracles are here to guide you, free of judgement.

As someone who receives hundreds of emails a day, sometimes it is hard not to feel overwhelmed when I open my inbox. Believe me when I say that the Brutally Honest Oracle is a breath of fresh air. These oracles’ answers will make your brain tick and fizz. Maybe you’ll be inspired to overcome an internal block or two.

We can all do with a little nudge to bring more art into our lives.

Quarantine Social Media Accounts + additional blogs

Website | Brutally Honest Oracle | The Art Spirit 2025

The post Quarantine Events Brutally Honest Oracle: your art questions answered, no holds barred appeared first on Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

In this special editorial, Matt Taylor takes us on a journey through his process, sharing a few secrets from his research stage and right through to the end result. Available now as a limited edition screen printed poster, we hope you enjoy this behind the scenes – thank you Matt for sharing!

Matt Taylor: the making of Kiki’s Delivery Service movie poster for Spoke Art

Preparation

For any movie poster, the first step for me is watching the film. I’ll pop it on and watch with a notepad to hand, usually writing down notes and thoughts about the film, but also some small thumbnail sketches if an idea comes to mind as well as time codes for scenes that I feel might be worth revisiting.

For Kiki, my initial thought was that I wanted something to communicate with the poster was the hustle and bustle of the piece – Kiki working in the shop, making friends and growing as a person. Obviously, there’s no scene in the movie where everyone is in shot at the same time, so I thought I’d build one, with the key cast going about their day and Kiki off on one of her errands.

With animated movies, I feel like it’s really important to stay on model to the character designs and backgrounds so that it feels recognisable. Ghibli has such a strong aesthetic to its films, it would be mad not to try and capture that. When I made my Akira poster for Spoke Art back in 2022, I created the layout solely from collaged screenshots, which I could use as the guide for my drawing, and it felt like this was the right choice for this piece too.

Thankfully there’s a bounty of websites devoted to screenshots from movies, so I went through the film shot by shot and grabbed a whole bunch of images that featured poses or elements that stood out to me. Once I had them all, I created a new canvas in Photoshop and set to work.

Building from the blank canvas: the importance of typography

The first thing I wanted to nail down was the title treatment. With any movie poster I work on, type is always the starting point. At the end of the day, a poster is a tool for communication, and if you can’t see what the title of the movie is then you’re not making a good poster. 

I had an idea that I wanted something big and bold to run through the center of the image (I’ve been increasingly drawn towards large dynamic title treatments this year). I wanted to have most of the text in Japanese with just the title repeated in English. I hate working on a white canvas, so I threw the blue in there as a base color – mainly because it’s the color of the Ghibli title card and was fresh in my head. This turned out to be unexpectedly fortuitous because it unexpectedly presented the idea for a variant colorway, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

Experimenting with image placement

Once the type was locked in place, I started to place the screen grabbed images from the movie around the page. I found a nice unobscured view of the shop to serve as the centerpiece of the poster and then experimented with placing different elements around the page to see where they felt right. I’d like to say there’s some logic and mystery to this stage but it’s really just a case of moving things around until they feel ‘right’.

Linework

When I had enough of the key pieces in place to begin drawing, I started to put in fairly loose but detailed linework – there’s nothing worse than when you’re making a finished painting and you come across a section that you really didn’t think through at the sketch stage! Once this was done, I basically had my finished line sketch. 

Usually I would start throwing some color on, but when I took a step back I realised that the black line on blue looked just like a Ghibli title card and it was great! There was no way that it would be the regular colorway of the poster, but I sent it over as it was to gauge what Ken and John at Spoke Art thought about it. 

They liked it! And because we’ve been working together for more than ten years, they trusted me when I said ‘I’ll figure out the actual colors for it when I’m painting’ – for which I’m always grateful. Having that trust with a long running partnership really makes the whole process so much easier.

Making the final design

Once the sketch was signed off, it was just a case of making the final art. This piece was a little different because I wanted to match the visual style of the anime, which meant everything has a black outline around it – something I don’t always do. With a view on avoiding nasty surprises down the line, I drew the entire piece as an outline first – moving a few elements from the sketch and substituting a couple of characters as well.

Generally I draw each character in a separate group on Photoshop so I can move them around. I’ll usually draw a little extra of any characters that fall behind others, so I have some flexibility to move them around. Once the art is moving towards a finished state you see things that aren’t obvious at sketch – usually, lines meeting each other awkwardly, or areas of similar colors next to each other that make it hard to read – so having the ability to adjust without having to repaint it is super helpful. I try to make my art as modular as possible without it feeling too stiff or awkward.

Once the line art was complete, I moved to the coloring. Because each character was in their own group I could paint quite loosely – mixing up tones and textures without worrying about painting outside the lines. In terms of the actual painting, there’s no real explanation other than ‘I just painted it’. So much of it is intuitive by this point – moving textures around and constantly editing as new components are finished so that everything feels harmonious. I’ll usually just work on a piece until it feels ‘right’.

I set a rough palette of contrasting colors in the swatch menu so I could swap colors quickly when painting. Instead of using traditional grey values, I cheated slightly and used colors that are higher contrast. This way you can have an image that from a value point of view is almost the same tone, but your eye reads the contrast and the whole thing can remain really bright and vibrant. I think from a color-theory perspective it’s not the best way to work, but it’s where I’ve landed!

My defaults when I’m painting are blues, pinks and oranges, with maybe a pop of bright yellow. Oftentimes I’ll use adjustment layers to change the finished piece once I’m done, but in this case, it felt like I’d really captured the mood of the movie without simply aping the palette of the film.

Once the color is added it’s then just a case of looking at the whole piece and picking out any errors – usually, areas where the contrast between the foreground and background isn’t clear and making sure all the type is legible. I’ll often paint the amends on a single layer on top of the artwork because at this point everything below it is locked and it’s faster to add the last details to everything at once.

Because I spent a long time on the sketch making sure it was readable, there weren’t really that many edits to make; in spite of its relative complexity, it was a pretty straightforward piece to paint. Planning made it so much easier than other pieces that I’ve only had a very vague idea of what they would look like when they’re done…

And that’s about it!

Want to get your hands on a copy of this limited edition screen printed poster? The work is now available via Spoke Art’s online shop – but be quick, they are selling fast!

About Spoke Art

Matt Taylor is an artist and illustrator based in the UK. With a visual style that leans toward the figurative and dynamic, he has found himself working for a wide range of clients from Nike to the BBC. Over the past few years, he has created sought after movie posters, trading cards and comic book covers.

Matt’s clients include: Amazon Studios, Apatow Pictures, Apple, 20th Century Fox, BBC Worldwide, BOOM! Studios, DC Comcis, FIFA/Triad Berlin, The Guardian, GQ, JWT, Jack White, Lucasfilm, Marvel Entertainment, Mutant, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Pearl Jam, Penguin Books, Phish, Queens of the Stone Age, Spoke Art, Sony, Vertigo Comics, and The Washington Post.

About Spoke Art

Spoke Art is an exhibition space and curatorial venture specializing in new contemporary painting, sculpture and illustration. Started in 2010, the gallery puts on pop-up shows and participates in conventions and art fairs around the country. You can usually find us in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles or Miami at least once a year. 

Matt Taylor Social Media Accounts

Website | Instagram

Spoke Art Social Media Accounts

Website | Facebook | Instagram | X

The post Behind the scenes with Matt Taylor: the making of Kiki’s Delivery Service movie poster appeared first on Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

The new deadline is midnight 31 July [Los Angeles date/time]. Just to give you all a little more time to enter your amazing art and photography – for your chance to win amazing cash, product, and service prizes in this years $73,000 USD prize pool!

Already entered? Now you can enter a few more works. More entries means more chances to win! Don’t forget you can also enter both the Emerging Artist Award and other Award categories if you fit the Emerging Artist Award entry criteria.

It’s super easy, just enter the best work from your portfolio whether it is sold or not – there is no need to create a new work. Just complete the relevant entry form in one of the five Award categories: Traditional Art, Digital Art, Photography, Sculpture, or the Emerging Artist category.

Entries for the 2024 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize now close on Wednesday 31 July 2024 at midnight [Los Angeles, USA time] / 5pm 1 August [Sydney, Australia time]. No more extensions after this date – we promise!

Still unsure if entering the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize is the right choice for you? You may want to read this handy little article we put together on The Bigger Picture: Why Entering Art Competitions Is A Smart Career Move. The Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize has been changing the lives and careers of artists for the last 7 years, don’t miss your chance to take your career to the next level.

With an easy submission process you can guarantee that your work will be seen by our Editor-in-Chief Danijela Krha Purssey. Why is this important? Because it isn’t just about winning (although that would be amazing) – the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize is also our fountain of inspiration. Every year we discover many new artists through our Art Prize, who then go on to be published on our website, our print magazine, and are also invited to our curated exhibitions. It is the best way to get on our radar! 

Giving the practices of representational artists validation and visibility, particularly in the commercial gallery and museum sector where it is still hard to get representation, is what the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize aims to achieve.

DANIJELA KRHA PURSSEY ~ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, BEAUTIFUL BIZARRE MAGAZINE

2024 Award Categories

• Musonium Grand Prize Award: $10,000 USD cash + prizes
• RAYMAR Traditional Art Award: $6,500 USD cash + prizes
• Photography Award: $4,500 USD cash + prizes
• Digital Art Award: $4,500 USD cash + prizes
• Yasha Young Projects Sculpture Award: $4,500 USD cash + prizes
• 33PA Emerging Artist Award: $5,500 USD + prizes
• Catherine K. Gyllerstrom People’s Choice Award Winner: $2,000 USD + prizes [public voting opens in August]

See below some of the wonderful entries we have received so far in the Photography, Digital Art, Sculpture and Emerging Artist Award categories. A separate blog will be published shortly sharing more of the amazing Traditional Art Award entries we have received so far.

Photography Art Award entries

Check out the full list of Prizes for this Award here.

Digital Art Award

Check out the full list of Prizes for this Award here.

Yasha Young Projects Sculpture Award

Check out the full list of Prizes for this Award here.

33PA Emerging Artist Award

Check out the full list of Prizes for this Award here.

The Musonium Grand Prize Award Winner will be selected by the Jury Panel from any Award category. The People’s Choice Award will open for public voting on 23 August 2024.

Entries Close: Midnight 31 July 2024 [Los Angeles, USA time]

Entry fee is US$40 to cover administrative costs. Enter the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize today!

$73,000 USD IN CASH & PRIZES TO BE WON

Submit your work today!

The Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize is administered by Australian based, international contemporary art magazine, Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

The 2024 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize
is proudly sponsored by

PALLADIUM SPONSOR

PLATINUM SPONSORS

GOLD SPONSORS
     

SILVER SPONSORS

BRONZE SPONSORS

MEDIA PARTNERS

ACADEMIC PARTNERS

The post Entry Deadline Extended! 2024 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize: Photography, Digital Art, Sculpture and Emerging Artist Entries appeared first on Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

Odhara is a self-taught artist from France who began drawing at the beginning of 2020 using vector technique. 

She has always been in contact with the art world since at a young age, as she started playing Violin at the age of 5 at the music conservatory of her hometown. She’s always had a passion for movies, animation, and music. Odhara also read a lot of books and mangas, all those things being very inspirational to her. 

When Odhara began her artist journey, representation was driven from the get-go. Her double ethnicity, being surrounded by people from different ones as well, and having a very diverse directory of movies, series, animation, and music genres had a very big influence on her art. 

Odhara found herself naturally drawn to draw only women from different ethnicities. Before drawing, she likes to take the time to understand her feelings and emotions, and then visually transcribe them in her head, including colors and shapes.

Women’s representation from a woman’s perspective is what is lacking in the art world.  Through her art, she aims to create a space where women from different ethnicities can see themselves represented in new and empowering ways. She’s interested in exploring the many facets of femininity as well as how we express our emotions and sensitivity.

Ultimately, her goal as a digital artist is to create work that is both meaningful and impactful, inspiring viewers to celebrate the diversity and strength of femininity, embrace the complexity of their own emotions, and enjoy the power of representation and inclusion in all aspects of our lives

Odhara’s work is a celebration of the strength, beauty, and complexity of women’s emotions, sensibility, and femininity and seeks to challenge conventional notions of beauty, especially regarding skin color, which is a very controversial subject in a lot of countries.

Growing up, Odhara was particularly drawn to the vibrant colors and elements of Asian and African art and culture. Her works are therefore quite colorful and somewhat non-regular regarding the way she use the colors. She chose not to engage herself in using a specific color palette 100% of the time, as colors are for her an important way of translating feelings and emotions. The simplicity and semi-realistic features of her paintings also come from the influences that mangas and African portraiture paintings had on her.

All of her works are a representation of her emotions, and mental states, as well as how she pictures the path to her dreams and goals. It can also be a representation of something that inspired her to represent the uniqueness of one’s woman femininity, and emotions.  

Nature is an important part of Odhara’s creations as it is a way of putting emotion into a scenery, allowing her to translate them more accurately, as emotions and feelings are very complex.

Join cutting-edge artists from around the world

The Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory is a powerful tool for artists looking to grow their visibility, and connect with fellow artists, curators and collectors. To join the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory click here for more information.

Odhara Social Media Accounts

Instagram

The post Artist Directory: Odhara appeared first on Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

Sara Lee is an artist and graphic designer based in New York City. Her style combines her professional graphic design background with her classical fine art training. Following graduation and working over a decade in commercial art, Sara found herself drawing less and less. Her motivation to draw was reignited after discovering Procreate. Sara presently works in television as a motion graphics designer while pursuing her art independently.

Sara Lee often paints portraits to explore the multifaceted nature of human emotion. Her experience with complex and sometimes conflicting ranges of feelings inspires her work. She captures her subject’s mood with signature colors and shapes. She paints her subjects as mirrors of her own emotions. Bright geometric patterns alongside soft, natural forms reflect the nuances of emotional contrast. The result is a striking representation of the subject’s emotional state.

Join cutting-edge artists from around the world

The Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory is a powerful tool for artists looking to grow their visibility, and connect with fellow artists, curators and collectors. To join the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory click here for more information.

Sara Lee Social Media Accounts

Instagram

The post Artist Directory: Sara Lee appeared first on Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

Would you like to:

• Win $10,000 USD cash?
• Exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery later this year [exhibition curated by Beautiful Bizarre Magazine | Art Direction by Musonium Gallery]?
• Have your work published in the December issue Beautiful Bizarre Magazine?
• Receive global exposure of your practice to galleries, curators and collectors?

If you would, then enter the best work from your portfolio today!

We’re continuing to share a selection of the entries that we have received so far on our websites and social media. To inspire you to submit your own work, we are excited to share more of the impressive entries that we’ve received so far in the Digital Art Award category below.

Musonium Grand Prize Award Winner will receive $10,000 USD cash!

The Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize celebrates diversity and excellence in the representational visual arts, in all static mediums including Traditional Art media, Digital Art media, and Photographic media; and all styles from realism and hyperrealism, to pop surrealism and lowbrow.

The Prize seeks to inspire creatives from around the world to pursue a life and career in the arts, and to help careers grow through funding and increased exposure of their work to galleries, collectors and media globally.

Digital Art Award

The Digital Art Award 1st prize winner will receive:

• $3,000 USD cash generously donated by Platinum sponsors.
• USD$375 cash, plus a US$375 gift card to use at GelaSkins.com, and the opportunity to have a collection with the brand, all generously donated by GelaSkins. GelaSkins create artist-designed premium cases and skins, supporting independent artists since 2005.
• Artist Pro 16 (Gen 2), generously donated by XPPen. XPPen is a globally notable brand celebrating digital art innovation, providing digital drawing products, content and services to encourage artists to pursue their dreams and authentic self-expression.
• Rebelle 7 Pro, plus US$60 worth of additional Paper, Canvases and Other Art Surfaces, generously donated by Escape Motions. Rebelle is the award-winning, hyper-realistic painting software with paint pigments colour mixing, oil thickness, watercolour diffusion and NanoPixel technology, which convincingly mimics the way natural media interact with the canvas and itself.
• A 24-month license to Clip Studio Paint EX, generously donated by Celsys. Clip Studio Paint is the digital artist’s app for drawing and painting anything from character and concept art to fine art illustration, and even professional animation. All of the powerful features are available on all major platforms to explore at home or on the go.
• A beautiful, specially commissioned glass art award trophy.
• The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery, in San Francisco, USA, alongside 70+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists.
• Exposure to a successful commercial gallery’s collector base with the opportunity to sell their work.
• 3 month social media advertising package (Beautiful Bizarre Magazine: 1 million+ followers across all social platforms).
• Winning artwork printed in the December 2024 issue of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, as part of the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize editorial.
• Exclusive in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine websites + shared across Beautiful Bizarre Magazine social media.
• Profile listing [including artwork gallery] on the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory for 12 months. The go-to platform for artists, curators and collectors to discover exceptional artists and explore their work.
• A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

2nd prize winner will receive:

• $1,000 USD cash, generously donated by Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.
• Artist Pro 14 (Gen 2)generously donated by XPPen. XPPen is a globally notable brand celebrating digital art innovation, providing digital drawing products, content and services to encourage artists to pursue their dreams and authentic self-expression.
• Rebelle 7 Pro, generously donated by Escape Motions. Rebelle is the award-winning, hyper-realistic painting software with paint pigments colour mixing, oil thickness, watercolour diffusion and NanoPixel technology, which convincingly mimics the way natural media interact with the canvas and itself.
• A 12-month license to Clip Studio Paint EX, generously donated by Celsys. Clip Studio Paint is the digital artist’s app for drawing and painting anything from character and concept art to fine art illustration, and even professional animation. All of the powerful features are available on all major platforms to explore at home or on the go.
• The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery, in San Francisco, USA, alongside 70+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists.
• Exposure to a successful commercial gallery’s collector base with the opportunity to sell their work.
• Exclusive in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine websites + shared across Beautiful Bizarre Magazine social media.
• Profile listing [including artwork gallery] on the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Artist Directory for 12 months. The go-to platform for artists, curators and collectors to discover exceptional artists and explore their work.
• A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

3rd prize winner will receive:

• $500 USD cash, generously donated by Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.
• Deco Pro (Gen2) XLW generously donated by XPPen. XPPen is a globally notable brand celebrating digital art innovation, providing digital drawing products, content and services to encourage artists to pursue their dreams and authentic self-expression.
• Rebelle 7 Pro, generously donated by Escape Motions. Rebelle is the award-winning, hyper-realistic painting software with paint pigments colour mixing, oil thickness, watercolour diffusion and NanoPixel technology, which convincingly mimics the way natural media interact with the canvas and itself.
• A 12-month license to Clip Studio Paint PRO, generously donated by Celsys. Clip Studio Paint is the digital artist’s app for drawing and painting anything from character and concept art to fine art illustration, and even professional animation. All of the powerful features are available on all major platforms to explore at home or on the go.
• The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery, in San Francisco, USA, alongside 70+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists.
• Exposure to a successful commercial gallery’s collector base with the opportunity to sell their work.
• Exclusive in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine websites + shared across Beautiful Bizarre Magazine social media.
• Profile listing [including artwork gallery] on the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Artist Directory for 12 months. The go-to platform for artists, curators and collectors to discover exceptional artists and explore their work.
• A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

Musonium Grand Prize Award Winner

The Musonium Grand Prize Award Winner of the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize 2024 will receive:

• $8,500 USD cash, generously donated by Palladium sponsor Musonium Gallery, Florida Gulf Coast’s premier art gallery with a clear focus on exhibiting and promoting compelling artworks from exceptional contemporary artists. Musonium exists as an institution within the art world’s traditional art sectors, where innovation and new rising talent constantly influence the ever evolving art scene. 
• $1,500 USD cash, donated by our Platinum sponsors RAYMAR, 33PA, and Yasha Young Projects.
• The opportunity to work with Musonium Gallery to plan and produce a solo exhibition, which will be published in a special editorial in Beautiful Bizarre Magazine. 
• A bespoke box of paints and varnishes generously designed and manufactured by Dartecor, created especially for the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize 2024.
• A 24-month license to Clip Studio Paint EX, generously donated by Celsys. Clip Studio Paint is the digital artist’s app for drawing and painting anything from character and concept art to fine art illustration, and even professional animation. All of the powerful features are available on all major platforms to explore at home or on the go.
• A beautiful, specially commissioned glass art award trophy.
• The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery, in San Francisco, USA, alongside 70+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists.
• Exposure to a successful commercial gallery’s collector base with the opportunity to sell their work.
• 10 page in-depth interview editorial published in Beautiful Bizarre Magazine December 2024 issue.
• Winning artwork printed in the December 2024 issue of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, as part of the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize editorial.
• Exclusive in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine websites + shared across Beautiful Bizarre Magazine social media.
• Profile listing [including artwork gallery] on the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory for 12 months. The go-to platform for artists, curators and collectors to discover exceptional artists and explore their work.
• 12 month social media advertising package (Beautiful Bizarre Magazine: 1 million+ followers across all social media platforms).
• A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

2024 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize Awards

• Musonium Grand Prize Award  $10,000 USD cash + prizes
• RAYMAR Traditional Art Award,  $6,500 USD cash + prizes
• Photography Award, $6,000 USD cash + prizes
• Digital Art Award,  $4,500 USD cash + prizes
• Yasha Young Projects Sculpture Award,  $4,500 USD cash + prizes
• 33PA Emerging Artist Award,  $5,500 USD + prizes
• Catherine K. Gyllerstrom People’s Choice Award $2,000 USD + prizes [public voting opens in August]

Remember: the sooner you enter, the more likely your entries will be shared on our social media and published on our websites!

Entries Close: Midnight 17 July 2024 [Los Angeles, USA time]

Entry fee is US$40 to cover administrative costs. Enter the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize today!

Take a peek at some of the wonderful entries we have received so far in the Digital Art Award category below.

$65,000 USD IN CASH & PRIZES TO BE WON

Submit your work today!

The Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize is administered by Australian based, international contemporary art magazine, Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

Entries Close: Midnight 17 July 2024 [Los Angeles, USA time]

.

The 2024 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize
is proudly sponsored by

PALLADIUM SPONSOR

PLATINUM SPONSORS

GOLD SPONSORS
   

SILVER SPONSORS

BRONZE SPONSORS

MEDIA PARTNERS

ACADEMIC PARTNERS

The post Check out Some of the Digital Art Award Entries: 2024 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize appeared first on Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

Ana Priscila Rodriguez’s creations evoke a sense of antiquity, akin to weathered photographs from a bygone era. They bear the marks of time, faded and frayed, offering glimpses into the enigmatic lives of women suspended between epochs—caught in the eternal dance of past, present, and future. Through her masterful compositions, we are transported into the restless recesses of the mind, where silent battles rage in the dead of night. Here, amidst the swirling mists of anxiety and doubt, Ana Priscila Rodriguez captures the elusive essence of peace and rest, inviting viewers to confront their own inner turmoil with poignant introspection.

In her compelling series, “The Absence of Faith,” Rodriguez beckons us to contemplate the intricate tapestry of desire and disappointment, faith and disillusionment. With thought-provoking precision, she navigates the twisting corridors of belief, urging us to confront our deepest fears and uncertainties with unwavering courage. Similarly, in “Dancing with Demons,” Ana Priscila Rodriguez delves into the shattered landscapes of the human psyche, tracing the intricate steps of a mystical dance between light and darkness. Through her evocative imagery, she guides us on a transformative journey of self-discovery, where inner demons are met with compassion and understanding, ultimately illuminating the path to personal redemption.

Ana Priscila Rodriguez’s exploration of pain is profound and deeply personal. It is a harlequin presence, weaving its threads through the fabric of existence—both physical and emotional. Having grappled with chronic pain for six years herself, she channels her experiences into works that shine a light on the darkest recesses of human suffering. Through her art, she offers a poignant glimpse into the hidden heartbreaks that we carry within, buried beneath layers of resilience and fortitude. Her images stay with us, haunting us, coming back to us throughout our moments of quiet and peace.

Rodriguez captures the elusive essence of peace and rest, inviting viewers to confront their own inner turmoil with poignant introspection.

Her latest series, “Inheritance,” serves as a testament to the enduring legacy of generational trauma. Inspired by her own lineage of women who have endured abuse and abandonment, Rodriguez delves into the depths of her ancestry, seeking to unravel the tangled threads of pain and resilience that bind her to the past. She is constantly revisiting the tomb of bygone years, and discovering new illuminations within it, about herself and others, every single time.

The series consists of forty-eight mixed media works, which are a variation of the “faux tintype” technique and use tea bag paper on fibreglass. They are delicate and made up of repetitive images. Fibreglass gives the photos an eerily similar semi-translucent quality to printed X-ray scans. With delicate strokes and haunting imagery, she invites us to contemplate the echoes of our forebears, etched into the very marrow of our bones. Through her evocative compositions, Ana Priscila Rodriguez implores us to break free from the shackles of inherited suffering, forging a new narrative of healing and redemption.

Throughout her oeuvre, Ana Priscila Rodriguez deftly weaves together strands of melancholy, desire, and untold secrets, inviting viewers to lose themselves in a dreamscape where reality and imagination intertwine. With each brushstroke and collage, she beckons us to embark on a journey of self-discovery and introspection, unveiling the profound beauty that lies within the labyrinthine depths of the human experience. And by visiting the ghosts of our past, perhaps we can finally let them be at rest.

Ana Priscila Rodriguez Social Media Accounts

Website | Tumblr | Instagram | Youtube

The post Ana Priscila Rodriguez: Ghosts of You appeared first on Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

Would you like our Editor-in-Chief, Danijela Krha Purssey who curates each issue of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine and our exhibitions to see your work? If so, enter the best work from your existing portfolio today; she personally goes through each entry herself!

2024 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize

Remember: there are now five award categories. If you work in any representational style and in any of these mediums you can enter: Traditional Art [pencil, charcoal, pastels, ink, oils, acrylic, watercolour, gouache, collage, mixed media, etc.]; Sculpture [all materials], Digital Art, Photography [digital or analogue]. Additionally, there is also the Emerging Artist Award, click here to see if you are eligible. You can find more details on the FAQs and Entry Criteria pages of the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize website.

We have incredible prizes this year, including cash, products, and services that you will love! The overall Musonium Grand Prize award winner will receive $10,000 USD cash, and each 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize award winners will also receive a mix of cash and other amazing prizes.

• RAYMAR Traditional Art Award – $6,500 USD cash & prizes
• Photography Award – receives $4,500 USD cash & prizes
• Digital Art Award – receives $4,500 USD cash & prizes
• Yasha Young Projects Sculpture Award – receives $4,500 USD cash & prizes
• 33PA Emerging Artist Award – receives $5,500 USD cash & prizes
• Catherine K. Gyllerstrom People’s Choice Award – receives $2,000 USD cash & prizes

To see the full prize list for each Award Category including 1st, 2nd and 3rd Prize winners click here.

Scroll down to take a peek at what the 1st Prize Winner in each Award category will win, and some of the great entries we have received so far.

Musonium Grand Prize Winner of the 2024 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize

The Overall Winner of the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize 2024 will receive:

• $8,500 USD cash, generously donated by Palladium sponsor Musonium Gallery, Florida Gulf Coast’s premier art gallery with a clear focus on exhibiting and promoting compelling artworks from exceptional contemporary artists. Musonium exists as an institution within the art world’s traditional art sectors, where innovation and new rising talent constantly influence the ever evolving art scene. 
• $1,500 USD cash, donated by our Platinum sponsors RAYMAR, 33PA, and Yasha Young Projects.
• The opportunity to work with Musonium Gallery to plan and produce a solo exhibition, which will be published in a special editorial in Beautiful Bizarre Magazine. 
• A bespoke box of paints and varnishes generously designed and manufactured by Dartecor, created especially for the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize 2024.
• A 24-month license to Clip Studio Paint EX, generously donated by Celsys. Clip Studio Paint is the digital artist’s app for drawing and painting anything from character and concept art to fine art illustration, and even professional animation. All of the powerful features are available on all major platforms to explore at home or on the go.
• A beautiful, specially commissioned glass art award trophy.
• The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery, in San Francisco, USA, alongside 70+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists.
• Exposure to a successful commercial gallery’s collector base with the opportunity to sell their work.
• 10 page in-depth interview editorial published in Beautiful Bizarre Magazine December 2024 issue.
• Winning artwork printed in the December 2024 issue of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, as part of the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize editorial.
• Exclusive in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine websites + shared across Beautiful Bizarre Magazine social media.
• Profile listing [including artwork gallery] on the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory for 12 months. The go-to platform for artists, curators and collectors to discover exceptional artists and explore their work.
• 12 month social media advertising package (Beautiful Bizarre Magazine: 1 million+ followers across all social media platforms).
• A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

Photography Award

The Photography Award 1st prize winner will receive:

• $3,000 USD cash generously donated by our Platinum sponsors.
• A special 10% discount code generously donated by MagMod, a specialist in lighting accessories for photographers.
• A beautiful, specially commissioned glass art award trophy.
• The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery, in San Francisco, USA, alongside 70+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists.
• Exposure to a successful commercial gallery’s collector base with the opportunity to sell their work.
• 3 month social media advertising package (Beautiful Bizarre Magazine: 1 million+ followers across all social media platforms).
• Winning artwork printed in the December 2024 issue of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, as part of the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize editorial.
• Exclusive in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine websites + shared across Beautiful Bizarre Magazine social media.
• Profile listing [including artwork gallery] on the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory for 12 months. The go-to platform for artists, curators and collectors to discover exceptional artists and explore their work.
• A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

To see what the 2nd and 3rd prize winner will receive click here!

RAYMAR Traditional Art Award

The RAYMAR Traditional Art Award 1st prize winner will receive:

• $3,000 USD cash, generously donated by RAYMAR, creators of the finest panels! Panels are their passion. They craft their panels with the world’s finest materials to serve as the foundation for your artwork. 
• $750 USD cash, generously donated by Catherine K. Gyllerstrom, Collector, Art Consultant, Owner & Art Director of BearWolf Books, an independent publishing house that specializes in Illustrated Fantasy, Mythology, and Stories for Young Readers.
• $1,500 USD worth of art photography and/or Fine Art archival print reproduction from Static Medium.
• A full grant to experience the 7-day Quarantine Event “The Art Spirit” in April 2025 (exact dates and event name TBC) in Menorca, Spain, generously donated by Quarantine Events. The grant includes 8 nights stay in a nearby hotel (breakfast included), plus the 7-day event including: a daily intensive Art Lab experience, three 40-minute private mentorships (pending development of event model), easel and other large or non-transportable materials, most beverages, and daily lunch and dinner. Travel expenses to/from Menorca, personal painting supplies, and additional hotel expenses are not included in the grant.
• A bespoke box of paints and varnishes generously designed and manufactured by Dartecor, created especially for the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize 2024.
• A beautiful, specially commissioned glass art award trophy.
• The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco, USA, alongside 70+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists.
• Exposure to a successful commercial gallery’s collector base with the opportunity to sell their work.
• 3 month social media advertising package (Beautiful Bizarre Magazine: 1 million+ followers across all social media platforms).
• Winning artwork published in the December 2024 issue of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.
• Exclusive in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine websites + shared across Beautiful Bizarre Magazine social media.
• Profile listing [including artwork gallery] on the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory for 12 months. The go-to platform for artists, curators and collectors to discover exceptional artists and explore their work.
• A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

To see what the 2nd and 3rd prize winners will receive click here!

Digital Art Award

The Digital Art Award 1st prize winner will receive:

• $3,000 USD cash generously donated by Platinum sponsors.
• USD$375 cash, plus a US$375 gift card to use at GelaSkins.com, and the opportunity to have a collection with the brand, all generously donated by GelaSkins. GelaSkins create artist-designed premium cases and skins, supporting independent artists since 2005.
• Artist Pro 16 (Gen 2), generously donated by XPPen. XPPen is a globally notable brand celebrating digital art innovation, providing digital drawing products, content and services to encourage artists to pursue their dreams and authentic self-expression.
• Rebelle 7 Pro, plus US$60 worth of additional Paper, Canvases and Other Art Surfaces, generously donated by Escape Motions. Rebelle is the award-winning, hyper-realistic painting software with paint pigments colour mixing, oil thickness, watercolour diffusion and NanoPixel technology, which convincingly mimics the way natural media interact with the canvas and itself.
• A 24-month license to Clip Studio Paint EX, generously donated by Celsys. Clip Studio Paint is the digital artist’s app for drawing and painting anything from character and concept art to fine art illustration, and even professional animation. All of the powerful features are available on all major platforms to explore at home or on the go.
• A beautiful, specially commissioned glass art award trophy.
• The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery, in San Francisco, USA, alongside 70+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists.
• Exposure to a successful commercial gallery’s collector base with the opportunity to sell their work.
• 3 month social media advertising package (Beautiful Bizarre Magazine: 1 million+ followers across all social platforms).
• Winning artwork printed in the December 2024 issue of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, as part of the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize editorial.
• Exclusive in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine websites + shared across Beautiful Bizarre Magazine social media.
• Profile listing [including artwork gallery] on the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory for 12 months. The go-to platform for artists, curators and collectors to discover exceptional artists and explore their work.
• A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

To see what the 2nd and 3rd prize winner will receive click here!

Yasha Young Projects Sculpture Award

The Yasha Young Projects Sculpture Award 1st prize winner will receive:

• $3,000 USD cash, generously donated by Yasha Young Projects, arts philanthropist and Executive Curatorial Director for the FOR_M, a new institution currently being developed in New York city.
• $400 USD worth of services from Stan Winston School, including an all-access 1 year subscription which includes unlimited access to their Course Library by The Masters of FX, with new courses added every month. Plus exclusive access to the Behind-the-Scenes Documentary stream.
• $250 USD worth of supplies of your choice from Sculpey, making polymer oven-bake clays for over 50 years.
• A beautiful, specially commissioned glass art award trophy.
• The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery, in San Francisco, USA, alongside 70+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists.
• Exposure to a successful commercial gallery’s collector base with the opportunity to sell their work.
• 3 month social media advertising package (Beautiful Bizarre Magazine: 1 million+ followers across all social media platforms).
• Winning artwork printed in the December 2024 issue of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, as part of the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize editorial.
• Exclusive in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine websites + shared across Beautiful Bizarre Magazine social media.
• Profile listing [including artwork gallery] on the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory for 12 months. The go-to platform for artists, curators and collectors to discover exceptional artists and explore their work.
• A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

To see what the 2nd and 3rd prize winner will receive click here!

33PA Emerging Artist Award

The 33PA Emerging Artist Award 1st prize winner will receive

• $3,000 USD cash, generously donated by 33PA, a diversified contemporary realism gallery, art community and publication.
• Deco Pro (Gen2) LW generously donated by XPPen. XPPen is a globally notable brand celebrating digital art innovation, providing digital drawing products, content and services to encourage artists to pursue their dreams and authentic self-expression.
• A beautiful, specially commissioned glass art award trophy.
• The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery, in San Francisco, USA, alongside 70+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists.
• Exposure to a successful commercial gallery’s collector base with the opportunity to sell their work.
• 12 month social media advertising package (Beautiful Bizarre Magazine: 1 million+ followers across all social media platforms).
• Winning artwork printed in the December 2024 issue of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, as part of the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize editorial.
• Exclusive in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine websites+ shared on social media.
• Profile listing [including artwork gallery] on the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory for 12 months. The go-to platform for artists, curators and collectors to discover exceptional artists and explore their work.
• A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

To see what the 2nd and 3rd prize winner will receive click here!

Catherine K. Gyllerstrom People’s Choice Award

Let your voice be heard! The 2024 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize, Catherine K. Gyllerstrom People’s Choice Award public voting will open on 23 August 2024. You will be able to vote for your favourite works from the 140 Finalists [25 per Award category: Digital Art, Photography, Sculpture; 50 from the Traditional Art Award category; and 15 from the Emerging Artist Award category].

People’s Choice Award voting opens: 23 August 2024.

The Winner of the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize Catherine K. Gyllerstrom People’s Choice Award will receive:

• $2,000 USD cash, generously donated by Catherine K. Gyllerstrom, Collector, Art Consultant, Owner & Art Director of BearWolf Books, an independent publishing house that specializes in Illustrated Fantasy, Mythology, and Stories for Young Readers.
• Deco Pro (Gen2) MW, generously donated by XPPen. XPPen is a globally notable brand celebrating digital art innovation, providing digital drawing products, content and services to encourage artists to pursue their dreams and authentic self-expression.
• A 12-month license to Clip Studio Paint PRO, generously donated by Celsys. Clip Studio Paint is the digital artist’s app for drawing and painting anything from character and concept art to fine art illustration, and even professional animation. All of the powerful features are available on all major platforms to explore at home or on the go.
• 12 month social media advertising package (Beautiful Bizarre Magazine: 1 million+ followers across all social media platforms).
• Exclusive in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine websites + shared across Beautiful Bizarre Magazine social media.
• Profile listing [including artwork gallery] on the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory for 12 months. The go-to platform for artists, curators and collectors to discover exceptional artists and explore their work.
• A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.
• Plus most importantly, receive worldwide exposure for their practice.

The 2024 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize
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A graduate of the University of Fine Arts in Madrid, mixed media artist Emanuela Nesko merges physical props with photography and digital enhancements to create eye-catching, symbolic images. By further pushing the boundaries of experimentation, we see Emanuela developing her ability to express heartfelt narratives and emotions which are both easily relatable, and deeply personal. This is part her of her charm; focusing on self-portraiture, her vulnerability helps us to form an even deeper connection to the images before us.

Hand-crafting multiple elements, I found the design process behind her latest work so fascinating that we had to share. Read more about the making of ‘The Demons in My Head’ below.

Emanuela Nesko: ‘The Demons in My Head’

I have two main workflows for creating an artwork. One is to start with an idea of an image that I have in my head and develop it, understanding the theme and trying to figure out the concept as I create it. The other is to choose a theme and create everything around it. I decide what colours to use, props, location, symbolism, etc. to express the concept more accurately. The first is more intuitive and the second is planned and executed with a specific theme or message in mind.

The sketch

For ‘The Demons in My Head’, I kept having this image in my mind of demons coming out of a person’s head. These figures represent negative or overwhelming thoughts that I sometimes have. I usually start with a rough sketch of the idea I have and write down notes, glimpses of thoughts, and what the concept is about.  

The shoot

Once I have a concept, it’s time to shoot. I plan exactly what I need to photograph, but during the shoot I also experiment with different poses and angles. That way I have enough images to choose from. Since most of my images are self-portraits, I put my camera on a tripod and connect it to an app on my phone. This way I can see what the picture looks like without having to go to the camera to see what I took. It also allows me to use the phone as a remote for the camera and to see if the pose is right before I take the picture.

The shooting of this picture has a very interesting story. I shot it in the home of a very nice lady I met because I took care of her cat a few times while she was on vacation. I told her what I was doing and that I found her apartment very interesting. So, I asked if it would be okay if I took some pictures there, and she agreed. Some of my other artworks from that year are there as well, and some from 2023.

During the shoot I also used flour mixed with water to create textures on my face because I knew I wanted the final image to have a lot of different textures. Additionally, I felt this would help the demons that I wanted to create to blend better with the rest of the image. As for the demons, I created them with acrylic and something textured, I think it was salt, and photographed them to later merge them with the main image in Photoshop.

Post production

After taking the main image, I adjusted the colour and light and mixed in the little demons I created for this piece. This editing was the less complicated part of creating this work.

Creating the mixed media

Since I wanted to create a mixed media piece with this concept, I first had to print it on the paper I use for most of my prints, Hahnemühle Museum Etching. I ordered a few smaller prints to see how the colours looked in print and if I needed to make any small adjustments. I also used the small prints to test the final piece. After a few small tests, I also printed a little larger to do some bigger tests. The idea was to add dark textures coming out of the heads of the demos, as if they were contaminating everything around them. I used ink and a granulation medium to granulate the ink and create these beautiful textures.

Finally, I was ready to make the final piece, so I printed it out to the size of a wooden board that I would glue it to. Since I wanted the sides of the board to match the textured feel of the image, I added texture with acrylic and flour. Then it was time to add the ink textures. I used the tests I did for inspiration. Since it is a fairly free and intuitive workflow, the end result is similar to the test, but unique in its own way. I also added tape to cover some parts of the image where I didn’t want the ink to go, and created some textures on those areas as well, since the tape would tear off parts of the print when I removed it.

Here you can see close-ups of the final piece:

Normally it doesn’t take me that long to finish an artwork, but this one in particular I started in the summer of 2022 and finished in January 2024. I did many other artworks in between, but for this one, I took a break after each stage. The last stage of creating the mixed media took me the longest; I did small tests first, so I had to order the prints, do the tests, then order more prints, and so on. 

After completing this piece, I feel like I learned a lot and took a step forward in the direction I want my work to go.

What I love about art is the constant experimentation and discovery of new and exciting things that you can add to enrich the artworks.

Emanuela Nesko Social Media Accounts

Website | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook

The post The making of: Emanuela Nesko’s ‘The Demons in My Head’ appeared first on Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

What makes up a face? While many might answer that the eyes and mouth make a basic face, other parts are needed for a more realistic face. In fact from a scientific standpoint, newborns understand a face by having the correct presentation of eyes and mouths where they should be. But what about the presentation of these parts on a head? Our genetics dictate where these will end up, and surgeries can alter them, but leave it to the real artists to create faces based not on beauty standards but by artistic standards.

With the myriad of combinations of facial features, the human face becomes a constellation of possibilities and that is exactly what Ingrid Baars does in her pieces. Sorting through pictures of models, the Dutch artist plucks mouths, noses, eyes, among other aspects to create faces that offer an ethereal visage that captivates the viewer. But don’t just take my word for it when Ingrid can tell you herself!

Exclusive Interview with Ingrid Baars

Why did you pursue art as a career? What made you want to graduate from Willem de Kooning Academy?

During my childhood, my love for artistic expression was evident. Drawing and crafting things with clay was what I loved most. I found myself sketching girls and shaping animal figures from clay. Receiving encouragement from others, like my grandfather and parents instilled a sense of confidence in my artistic abilities. However, it wasn’t until I reached the age of sixteen or seventeen that I experienced a profound sense of passion and excitement.

It was during this period that I delved into photography for the first time. I captured images of friends and family, with my mother, who was a model at the time, being one of my early subjects. Simultaneously, I embarked on my journey at the Academy of Arts, where I developed a deep-seated enthusiasm for drawing. Both photography and drawing evoked a sense of magic within me, and I vividly remember the intense focus that enveloped me during those moments.

I guess it’s always been clear to me that art was my calling because I loved it from the beginning. I’m glad I followed the path of doing what I loved, and still love most.

It’s not enough to be talented. You need to persevere and believe in yourself.

Ingrid Baars

Tell me about the moment you realized you no longer wanted do commercial assignments and shifted your focus on your artistic career. Were you worried about failure? Did you have to break ties with anyone to pursue your own interests?

After completing my education at the Academy of Arts at the age of 22, I embarked on a career as a freelance illustrator and photographer, dedicating a decade to this journey. At the same time, I continued to work on my personal projects and began showcasing in group exhibitions. As my body of work gained strength, I started having solo exhibitions alongside my commercial stuff.

During this time, I couldn’t handle the loneliness and financial insecurity that can come with being an autonomous artist with total freedom, so I held onto my commercial assignments. But in 2010, I naturally transitioned into the next phase and stopped with all commercial activities. I never gave it much thought. It was just the next logical step.

I got more and more annoyed by the assignments I had to do and just wanted to make my own work. I was very eager to work on my own series and didn’t feel nervous about anything anymore. The time was just right. As an illustrator, I always worked with an agent so I had to break ties with the agency but this was a smooth process.

It’s not easy to be an independent artist though. It’s not enough to be talented. You need to persevere and believe in yourself. You must be able to cope with many setbacks and just keep going. But I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Tell me about your artistic process. I understand your process begins with taking photos.

Each new piece represents a unique journey. I avoid recurring patterns, continually exploring new territories. After completing a piece, retracing the steps that led to the final result can be challenging, but reflects my commitment to avoiding artistic monotony.

I usually start by gathering a diverse range of photographic materials, often fragments from prior images I’ve photographed. I keep these rough shots untouched in my archive until I start a new portrait. This assortment includes subjects such as studio-shot eyes, noses and other facial features of models, fragments of sculptures, and anything inspiring from a wide spectrum of sources like flowers and plants, stuffed birds or jewellery, textures, fabrics, patterns, even Egyptian artifacts. [it is] a ‘mishmash’ of things I tend to bring together in my computer when I create a series of portraits with these ingredients.

I recently spent a whole day at The Louvre, taking pictures of anything that caught my eye and took hundreds of pictures at the Field Museum when I was in Chicago. It is these elements I combine on my computer to start building a face.

During this first phase of the process, it’s mostly a matter of searching. As a portrait slowly comes to life, I try to be as open and experimental as possible, tuning in on what seems like a failure and then responding to that. During this process, I keep screenshots of the moments in-between.

Sometimes this phase takes days and there’s usually a moment where I lose faith in the positive outcome. I always get the feeling somehow this time it just sucks, until suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a combination of all the above-mentioned elements seem to fit and I feel a connection with my subject. I don’t have another way to describe it other than magic. It’s so rewarding.

Throughout the process, I find myself operating in a dimension, where emotions and practical considerations engage in an ongoing dialogue where emotions and pragmatic thoughts try to make something good together. This process of harmonizing the conscious and unconscious aspects of my creative mind is integral to my work, and I believe, to all artists.

How long does an image usually take you to complete? How many steps are involved?

Usually about a month. Sometimes much faster, sometimes slower.
I can’t say how many steps, but it always involves taking pictures either at my studio or in a museum or just anywhere. Then the rough search and eventually when a portrait arises from the chaos I spent a lot of time in, finalizing and working on all details in depth.

I’ve read that you seek out lavish artifacts from curio collectors to inspire your pieces. Tell me about one of your favorite objects you’ve included, or been inspired by, in your pieces.

I don’t have a singular favourite object that stands out above the rest, but I’m deeply fascinated by several categories of artifacts that have consistently inspired my work. Among these, Ancient Greek and Roman sculptures have a timeless allure. I’ve often incorporated elements of their aesthetic into my pieces. Similarly, Fang sculptures have been a wellspring of inspiration for me.

How would you describe your art style? Your pieces range from appearing as sculptures to photo collages. Even the way your figures are depicted is set in an array of different techniques and styles.

I’d classify my work as digital collage. The women depicted in my art are not real; each portrait is a fusion, a synthesis of many different people. For instance, when creating the face, especially the eyes, I use small parts from different eyes. It’s not a matter of overlaying different eyes on top of one another; rather, I construct a new, unified face from these individual components, resulting in a visage that not existed previously.

I create two-dimensional artwork, but my aspiration is to imbue my portraits with the potential to be perceived as three-dimensional sculptures.

Who or what has been the single most important influence for your work today? Who are some of the other artists that have influenced you?

In all honesty, I’ve never really had role models, but I can’t deny the impact of several artists, designers, and musicians, especially during my early years. Artists like Bjork, Erwin Olaf and the early photo manipulations of Inez van Lamsweerde left me inspired and influenced.

Fashion-wise, the unconventional designs of Jean Paul Gaultier and Vivienne Westwood, along with Alexander McQueen’s creations, have always fascinated me. Although in the past some associated my work with Guy Bourdin, I’ve never considered him a role model. My true influences came from artists like Pierre & Gilles, Marlene Dumas and Man Ray to name but a few.

I have great admiration for some of the Northern Renaissance artists, Lucas Cranach, Jan van Eyck, Hans Memling, and Rogier van der Weyden. The emotional depth in their work have certainly left their mark on my creative journey. And I can’t forget the greats like Da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli – they will always be inspiring to me.

Tell me about “Rose”. What inspired this piece and how long did it take you to complete?

I found myself gravitating more and more towards the image of the (black) Madonna and I decided to explore this phenomena in the Christian context as well as in the context of a more primeval mother figure; a probable precursor to the Christian Mary/Maria Magdalene.

My interest lies in the powers vested in them as I see the analogy to what I imbue in my images. The Madonna’s I create harbor the suffering, the beauty, the power and the comfort.

‘Rose’ is my most recent Black Madonna.

‘Rose’, as with my other Black Madonna pieces, is meant to take heart from, to give strength and provide consolation, to be receptive to our suffering and our pain, she is compassionate and empathetic.

Why did you enter the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Art Prize?

I participated in the BB Art Prize because I find the quality of the entries to be high, and because BB always generates a lot of publicity. Moreover, it’s a very well-organized and highly dedicated, friendly organization.

What do you feel you have gained from this experience?

Many positive responses and increased recognition and appreciation for my work.

Would you recommend it and encourage others to enter? If so, why?

Yes, I would. Because it helps on the journey as an artist.

Ingrid Baars Social Media Accounts

Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn

The post The Constellation of Possibilities: An Interview with Ingrid Baars appeared first on Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

Berk Günay is a visual artist currently living in Istanbul. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. Berk is an artist who combines figurative realism with abstract elements and creates his own atmosphere. He expresses his inner world with surrealist and symbolist values ​​in his works. He is using occult and spiritual issues for his art to create a reality beyond the reality we are in.

Berk believes that memories are references to emotions, but our minds always miscode information because that’s the way the human brain works.

The emotions we feel come to us through these corrupted records. So it is these faulty memories that are stored in our souls. So what is the truth? What is important? Isn’t it the memories that make you live in the moment? Berk questions our intuition, the source of our feelings, and the price to pay for spiritual enlightenment.

Join cutting-edge artists from around the world

The Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory is a powerful tool for artists looking to grow their visibility, and connect with fellow artists, curators and collectors. To join the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory click here for more information.

Berk Günay Social Media Accounts

Website | Instagram

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Rob Domenech is a self-taught photographer and digital artist residing in Dallas, Texas. His work is heavily symbolic and effortlessly combines the dark and the beautiful to create a blissful uneasiness in the viewer. “I love telling stories with my imagery…”, Rob says, “…and I enjoy the subtlety that makes the viewer have to lean in to really understand the tales being told. I like to think that my work doesn’t scream; it whispers. In a sense, I want to invoke the same feeling we get when we look in the mirror and dare to see beyond our simple reflections.”

Rob Domenech’s work attempts to capture a variety of themes, from the empowerment of self-discovery to the danger of losing oneself in the pursuit of artificial beauty. 

Join cutting-edge artists from around the world

The Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory is a powerful tool for artists looking to grow their visibility, and connect with fellow artists, curators and collectors. To join the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory click here for more information.

Rob Domenech Social Media Accounts

Website | Facebook | Instagram

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Ted Chin aka TedsLittleDream is a gifted digital artist and photographer originally from Taiwan, who is now based in San Francisco, USA. He is widely recognized for his exquisite Photoshop composite art, which exudes a dreamy and surreal quality with occasional touches of ethereal nature spirits. With over six years of experience in digital production, Ted has successfully served a diverse range of clients from all around the world.

His exceptional talents were recently acknowledged when he was selected as the cover artist for the Adobe Photoshop 2021 splash screen. Ted’s boundless creativity is driven by a desire to capture and communicate the captivating wonder and beauty of the world, inspiring viewers with his imaginative artwork.

Ted Chin’s work can be described as a fantasy world with a touch of surrealism, sometimes with elements of nature. TedsLittleDream is a project he created to travel the world with the power of imagination and to escape reality. 

He believes there are spiritual guardians that protect nature in a secret way and we don’t usually see them often. In his art, this is how we will encounter them in the most mysterious way he could think of. Each of them could present different symbolism and how viewers interpret it.

There are things in the world that inspire childlike wonder, and it is his passion to recreate and share them with the world.

Some of his favorite elements include forest, ocean, beautiful animals that represent different meanings and his favorite animals are probably deer and whale.

Join cutting-edge artists from around the world

The Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory is a powerful tool for artists looking to grow their visibility, and connect with fellow artists, curators and collectors. To join the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory click here for more information.

TedsLittleDream (Ted Chin) Social Media Accounts

Website | Facebook | Instagram | X

The post Artist Directory: TedsLittleDream (Ted Chin)  appeared first on Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

Glimpse of Horror (GOH) is a creative project born in Italy in 2021 from the mind of Matteo Weber, professional fashion photographer. Initially proposed on Instagram as a personal “artistic outlet” derived from a background linked to horror and science fiction cinematography, the project gradually took shape and a precise artistic line. With a close collaboration with Caterina Perinetti for the production of masks and costumes and Riccardo Angarano for the creation of props, GOH has reached its current form in Brescia at the Vulcano studio; creating artworks for musical artists and publications in sector magazines.

Glimpse of Horror’s expressive imagery focuses on portraits of alien deities with a strong mythological imprint and on post-apocalyptic landscapes. All the images are photographic compositions, without any AI or 3D elements and each part that composes them is photographed by Matteo. Each work originates from an object, often used transcending its real meaning; like tribal masks transformed into spaceships, or from a landscape discovered during a journey or observed in the places that characterize our everyday life. The composition phase is carried out entirely with Photoshop, applying the techniques learned in 16 years of career in the world of photography.

Join cutting-edge artists from around the world

The Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory is a powerful tool for artists looking to grow their visibility, and connect with fellow artists, curators and collectors. To join the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory click here for more information.

Matteo Weber (GOH) Social Media Accounts

Instagram

The post Artist Directory: Matteo Weber (GOH) appeared first on Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.

FAYBEL (Ellie Nesbitt) is a self-taught digital painter, gallery and cover artist. She currently resides in the Great Lakes lowlands of Ontario, Canada. 

Her digital paintings are sensory symphonies: textures distilled from acute tactile experiences and melodious memories, extrapolations of her heightened-sensory life on the autism spectrum. 

FAYBEL’s digital portraits feature compelling expressive eyes, at times quite large, with surrealist flare. Her painted works derive from tales that sing of peoples and creatures from uncanny realms and misbegotten places. From a collection of original narratives, she laces her fantastical characters with careful brushwork into digital colour spaces.

Addled by severe osteoporosis and multiple compression fractures, Ellie uses the digital medium for meditative and expressive release. In the supine position, she paints with a suspended monitor, engaging steadfastly with those who enjoy her creations and follow her journey on social media (Instagram). 

Big expressive eyes introduce the viewer to the dynamic personalities of Ellie Nesbitt’s fairytale characters, while detailed textures evoke sensory experiences beyond the visual form.

Nature and floral motifs, colourful face-paint and intricate ornamentation are infused with vibrant palettes with fervent reference to mythology and folkloric elements.

Original fairytales with notes of strange sci-fi to the dark fantastical are underpinned with characters, intricate magical objects and curious creature companions in artist FAYBEL’s (Ellie Nesbitt) digital portrait works. Whether from the tale of an animate undercity dwelling rag doll and her suspect baking overlord or the narrative of an android princess from a realm interred in the gullet of a sleeping kaiju-like monster, these uncanny paintings are a glimpse into themes of friendship, devotion and endurance in Ellie Nesbitt’s collection of unpublished original fiction narratives expressed through contemporary, (pop) surreal, imaginative realism and (dark) fantasy art styles.

Join cutting-edge artists from around the world

The Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory is a powerful tool for artists looking to grow their visibility, and connect with fellow artists, curators and collectors. To join the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory click here for more information.

FAYBEL (Ellie Nesbitt) Social Media Accounts

Website | Instagram | Facebook | X

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Barrett Biggers finds therapy through creation. It is the only effective way for him to truly express his desires, dreams and emotions. He has been drawing and painting for fun as a hobby for most of his life but as a professional for the last 15 years. Barrett’s love of design, art and digital came from his father who worked in graphic design and publishing while his love of wildlife, ecology and plants came from his mother who was a Biology teacher.

After college he began his career as a Wildlife Biologist but various circumstances led Barrett to really reflect on what he ‘‘loved” to do. That turned out to be a graphic artist. However with no real experience he took a big chance by designing a portfolio full of fictional graphic advertisements and luckily found a job as a junior graphic designer.

Barrett learned through trial by fire, which was learning the fundamentals of design, colour theory, typography, layout, etc. on the fly with fast deadlines. Many long nights of google searches, tutorials and just making his own art with many experiments. This was how he learned “commercial art” in the real world. He admits it was quite challenging without the help of years of art school and lack of connections. But over time Barrett worked his way to lead designer for two different global companies. Finally he was able to become a full time independent freelance artist. During this time he built his own fine art business selling his works as prints and apparel.

Barrett still works as a freelance graphic designer while he runs, prints, ships and manages multiple art shops online including his own store and Etsy. Barrett Biggers is a hard worker but likes to emphasize he is also very fortunate. His goal is to challenge the viewer to find their own story in his work rather than try to pick apart what the “methods and techniques” used.

Perhaps it’s his lack of formal art schooling but learning by doing and trying new things seems to have given him a different perspective on things. What are the tangible emotions you get as you experience seeing it for the first time? The greatest impact of art is when a viewer starts interpreting it in their own way and how it makes them feel.

Barrett’s favourite comments on his work are when people tell him the emotions they felt and the story they came up with after viewing. Finding all his little secrets hidden in the small details is both exciting and rewarding. 

Barrett Biggers’ work focuses on nature surrealism and exploring darker realms that hint on the macabre, but don’t stray too far from the light. He likes to blend digital art painting with texturing and photographic collage techniques to make complex and detailed compositions that keep a hand painted “traditional” feel. He loves the aesthetics of the occult, dark fantasy and symbology. Darker art mixing with his love of florals, nature and biology. The beautiful and the bizarre working together.

Barrett’s graphic design experiences have helped him to create pieces that communicate an emotional narrative through composition, blending, colour and perspective. However there is no “one” style that defines the look because one of his greatest joys is being able to experiment and play with new ideas quickly. He started in traditional art media (charcoal, oils, watercolours, inks, airbrush, etc.) but having moved to digital has allowed him to work faster and try new things more efficiently as he realized digital allows him to have more fun and “play” while he creates. 

As a highly sensitive introverted person, Barrett struggles with mental health issues and periodic burnout. A professional artist is a very competitive, social and extroverted career. He finds his art reflects these issues automatically. Like waves in the sea or forested mountains and valleys. An underlying theme of Taoist ideology is very present in his work. Striving to find a balance.

Barrett tends to use water a lot as an element to show the fluidity of his emotions – how they can be calm and clear or violent and murky. He literally put himself or his female “anima” counterpart into his work. We can see them exploring the scene, like a reference point for the viewer. His complex emotions all pour into the work and have influenced his styles to what we see today.

Barrett is proud of his highly sensitive nature and he has a strong sense of his feminine side. Accepting his sensitivity is also present in his art as it tends to showcase a balance of feminine softer energies with the masculine power of elemental nature. Being sensitive and introverted have been real social hardships to Barrett’s career as an artist. These struggles he likes to discuss with other creatives as he is not embarrassed to admit that he is not a fan of the current “hustle culture”. 

He believes artists should be taking their time, enjoying what they do and do it at their own speed/tempo. “Do what you love and love what you do.” This is a very overused cliché statement but for him it is a simple mantra.  

Join cutting-edge artists from around the world

The Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory is a powerful tool for artists looking to grow their visibility, and connect with fellow artists, curators and collectors. To join the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory click here for more information.

Barrett Biggers Social Media Accounts

Website | Instagram | Facebook | X

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In the world of art, there are individuals who embark on journeys of creativity that resonate deeply with the human experience. Garis Edelweiss, an artist whose work speaks to the soul, offers a unique perspective on the challenges and inspirations that have shaped his artistic path. We delve into the early days of his artistic endeavours, uncovering the difficulties he faced as a young artist, and explore his transformation from graphite to digital art. Hailing from the culturally rich region of Java, Indonesia, Garis Edelweiss shares his insights into the vibrant Indonesian cultural art scene, blending tradition with contemporary expression.

While Garis Edelweiss may not consider himself a highly spiritual person, he shares his beliefs in concepts such as fate and destiny, reminding us of the delicate interplay between our choices and the unseen hands of destiny. His creations often find poetic accompaniments, fusing words and visuals to convey a profound narrative that goes beyond the canvas. We also delve into the story behind his winning masterpiece, “The Healer,” which won the 1st prize in the 2023 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize iCanvas Digital Art Award. 

I believe that many things in our lives are influenced by our decisions and actions, but there are also elements of fate that we cannot fully control.

gARIS eDELWEISS

Garis’s artistic journey is not solitary; he shares how a collaborative project with his young daughter has allowed him to see art through the eyes of innocence and wonder. As for what’s on the horizon, Garis Edelweiss hints at new art pieces, collaborations, and virtual exhibitions that will bring his vision to a broader audience.

Having achieved more recognition through the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Art Prize, Garis Edelweiss reflects on the impact of this experience, highlighting the significance of exposure and validation in the art world. He encourages other artists to embrace such opportunities, viewing them as transformative steps to advancing their careers in the art world.

Join us as we journey through the artistic world of Garis Edelweiss, a creator who paints with colours that touch the heart and the soul.

Take us back to the early days. When did you first start drawing, and what difficulties or challenges did you encounter in your formative years as a young artist?

I have enjoyed drawing since a very young age and became more serious about it when I turned 28. I faced challenges during my formative years. One of the main difficulties was finding time and resources to develop my interest in art. Additionally, there were times when I doubted my abilities and struggled with self-criticism, which is common among artists. Overcoming these doubts and continuously practising and improving my skills has been a significant challenge.

What is life like in Java, Indonesia? How would you describe the Indonesian cultural art scene?

Life in Java, Indonesia, is rich in culture and tradition. The Indonesian cultural art scene is diverse and vibrant, reflecting the country’s rich cultural heritage. It involves traditional art forms like batik, wayang kulit, and its social life, as well as contemporary art that draws from global influences. There is a strong sense of community and artistic expression in Indonesia, which is inspiring and supportive for artists.

Would you consider yourself a spiritual person? Regardless, what are your beliefs towards concepts like fate and destiny?

I don’t consider myself a highly spiritual person, but I do have beliefs in concepts like fate and destiny. I believe that many things in our lives are influenced by our decisions and actions, but there are also elements of fate that we cannot fully control.

Graphite used to be your tool of choice but now you seem to be using the digital medium more frequently. When did this transition take place, and why do you think it happened?

The transition from traditional graphite drawing to digital art happened gradually over several years. I was drawn to digital media because of its flexibility and the ability to experiment with various techniques and styles without the limitations of physical materials. The ease of digital tools and the opportunity to reach a wider audience online also played a role in this transition.

I actually enjoy poetry in visuals, with every object of my fascination, I tend to poeticise it visually with imaginary movements, nuances, and shouts.

GARIS EDELWEISS

Sometimes you will promote an artwork with an accompanying poem, as with “Whispers of Solemn”. Do you often write poetry? Are you inspired by literature?

I actually enjoy poetry in visuals, with every object of my fascination, I tend to poeticise it visually with imaginary movements, nuances, and shouts. However, sometimes I feel that my artwork could be better conveyed with words, providing a rich source of imagery and emotions that can complement my visual art. The combination of visual elements and writing can create a deeper and multidimensional experience for the audience.

Please tell us more about the story behind your winning work “The Healer”.

“The Healer” is a piece that explores the theme of healing, both physical and emotional. A child, a girl with love and kindness, heals all the wounds around her.

What poem would you write for “The Healer”? 

The Healer

To lift the crushing weight

To fathom the bitter root

To navigate by this alluring rose full of thorn

From the day you are born

You once collaborated with your young daughter on an art series, what was this project about? And do you think having a daughter has in some way shaped or changed your artistry? 

The art series I collaborated on with my daughter is a project that allows us to explore imagination and creativity from a child’s perspective. It’s a fun experience that reminds me of the importance of play and wonder in art. Having a daughter has certainly shaped my art, as it makes me more attuned to the innocence and curiosity that children possess.

What does Garis Edelweiss have coming up? What in the pipeline would you like to share with our readers? 

In my future plans, I have several new art pieces and collaborations in progress. I also plan to enhance my online presence and interact more with the audience through virtual exhibitions and interactive art experiences.

Why did you enter the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Art Prize?

I participated in the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Art Prize because it’s a prestigious platform that celebrates and supports contemporary artists. The exposure and recognition it offers are invaluable, and it aligns with my goal to reach a broader audience with my art.

What do you feel you have gained from this experience?

From this experience, I have gained exposure and validation for my work. Being selected as a winner has boosted my confidence and motivated me to push the boundaries of my creativity.

Would you recommend it and encourage others to enter? If so, why?

I highly recommend the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Art Prize to other artists. It’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase your work to a global audience, gain recognition, and connect with fellow artists and art enthusiasts. This experience can be transformative and inspiring for anyone looking to advance their career in the art world.

Garis Edelweiss Social Media Accounts

Instagram | Twitter

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