The Overall Winning Artists Category consists of the 10 Best Entries received from the 3 media categories of the Painting & Other Category and the Photography & Digital Category.

The winning artists will now be featured on the Light Space & Time website for the month of May 2017 and thereafter, the artworks and links to the artist’s websites will remain online in the Light Space & Time Archives.

Congratulations to our artists who made our 7^th Annual “Landscapes” Art Exhibition so successful this month. At any time, we invite our winners and other interested visitors to link their websites to the Gallery’s Archive section for further ongoing promotion.

The Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery will have digital “Landscapes” Award Certificates, Event Postcard, and Press Releases sent to the winning artists within the next week or so. Thank you to all of the artists who participated and for being a part of the gallery. To return to the Landscapes Home Page here.

1^st Place – JoAnn Shelby – “Poppy Field”

Creating, painting, fabric design is part of my every day. As a young child, I was always drawing, cutting up whatever was handy to make my creations. The story goes that scissors had to be hidden from me. My poor mother! University studies focused on fine art and clothing design, and worked in a gallery after studies, selling in art fairs. While 3 sons were young I returned to school to become a surgical technologist to support myself and them. Sadly painting went to back burner. Now they are grown wonderful men and retired after 21 years I am a full time working artist.

Discovered alcohol inks 3 years ago, I’m hooked. I use many mediums depending on results wanted. The inks give me flow, brilliant intense colors desired. Living in fabulous Upper Peninsula of Michigan provides unlimited inspiration. I see great Lake Superior from studio window, deep woods beckon exploration. I don’t try to make photographic representation, rather I try to convey the feeling that I get from a scene.  www.facebook.com/snowqueenstudio

2^nd Place - William Nourse – “Icelandic Zen”

The opportunity to spend time in wild places is increasingly precious in our modern society. Seeing fog form in Yosemite Valley, witnessing the power of a storm at the beach, meditating on a sunset in the Rocky Mountains or feeling insignificant beneath the brilliance of the Milky Way on a clear night are activities that fewer and fewer people in the world take the time and are able to experience. 

While there are an ever-increasing number of photographers, there are far fewer landscape artists who express themselves through photography. As Galen Rowell wrote 'Well-executed photos of familiar scenes predictably fill up months of Sierra Club and Audubon calendar and put bread on the table of the chosen photographer, but the question a dedicated nature photographer should be asking is, “Do I want to be a content provider or a visual artist?” 

Traveling to the wild and returning with images that capture the essence of a place and the emotion that it evokes is what I do as a visual artist. This may be a grand landscape in the mountains, a storm-wracked shore or a peaceful sunset over a lake, but in each image distilling that essence and communicating it to the viewer is my objective. I am often drawn as well to strong, graphic elements in natural images, capturing line, color or texture in natural scenes – this may be in the fractal nature of mountain shapes, newly formed ice on a puddle or contrasting light and shadow on a hillside.

Sometimes, an image straight of the camera expresses that feeling perfectly. At other times, it may take manipulation in the digital darkroom to bring the image into alignment with my vision. With others yet, it may take the combination of multiple images through HDR processing or other exposure-blending techniques, to make up for some of the limitations of what the camera can do compared to the human eye and brain. Finally, there may be cases where the image calls for processes that take it beyond documentary or even expressiveness and become impressionist or abstract. Taking full advantage of the tools available is a key part of my process to meet the needs of the specific image.

My recent trips to Iceland (July 2016 and March 2017) were an amazing opportunity. The variety of landscape and weather seem to provide an almost inexhaustible supply of images as well as some interesting technical challenges. While there are many iconic viewpoints such as Kirkjufell, Jokulsarlon or the Vestrahorn, I was able to do some variations on the theme and avoid cookie-cutter images. I was also able to produce a lot of images that don’t rely on standard locations and capture the unique nature of the Icelandic landscape and climate.

I enjoy sharing my work both digitally and physically. Preparing an image and taking it through the printing process often forces me to regard the work more closely and critically than does a quick edit for social media. This, in turn, helps in refining technique both in-camera and in post-processing. Experimenting with different types of paper or other media such as aluminum, or producing prints in a variety of sizes can also dramatically impact the way a particular piece is regarded by the viewer.

Part of the challenge and reward of photography is capturing that ephemeral moment and sharing the experience with the viewer. In landscape and nature photography, that might be first light on a mountainside, the patterns of foam on water or the layering of clouds over a landscape, but the intent is the same as that of a portrait or even a travel snapshot: ‘this is what I saw and how I felt – experience it with me.’  www.willnourse.photography

3^rd Place – Brian LaSaga – “Weathered Slope”

Brian LaSaga is a Canadian artist who lives and creates in Newfoundland. Brian states the following about his art and creativity, “Nature is my muse and inspiration simply because of her endless subject matter and surprises. This collaboration offers me something I never even thought of. Although I prefer to paint nature themes, weathered objects, and rural settings, I'm open to other things that may catch my eye.

As an artist, I feel that I'm just a work in progress, and there is always something to learn. Exploring and collecting material for paintings is a great adventure for me, and always a thrill to wonder what's around the bend or beyond that ridge.

I like to create a sense of place that is somewhere but nowhere in particular. I hope each and every viewer sees and takes something a little different from my work and has an experience rather than just be viewing a picture. My goal is not to paint life, but to paint life into my work and create an emotional connection that I hope will inspire my viewers." www.brianlasagarealism.com

4^th Place - Sandy Friedkin – “Sunset in the Restoration Area”

Sandy Friedkin is a Florida freelance Graphic Designer, & Photographer.  Photography is her passion. She started taking photos to illustrate some of her graphic design pieces. She now photographs wildlife, seascapes, landscapes, & people. She uses her photographs as the basis for her artistic interpretation & creativity, which she does digitally in the computer.

She has her larger pieces printed on gallery wrapped canvas. Sandy has entered & has had her work accepted into many local gallery juried shows including Art in the Airport, the Lighthouse Gallery in Jupiter, where she received numerous honorable mentions & 2nd place in the “Art Of Associations” for Photography; the Unique Gallery, in Jupiter; Jonathan Dickinson State Park, The St. Lucie Convention Center; Artists of Florida juried shows, & received “Best In Show”.

Most recently, Sandy was awarded “The Grand Prize” for her entry into the 2017 Grassy Waters Photography Contest and first place ribbon in the Palm Beach Artists juried art contest. She has sold many of her landscapes & wildlife pieces and they hang in many homes throughout Florida.  sandyfriedkin@comcast.net

5^th Place – Radanut Im-oeb - “A Must to Wander No. 1”

“Human and Nature are always related to each other, so I decided to create my artworks to convey and demonstrate my emotions and imagination towards the beauty of nature. I always convey the feelings from my perspective, so people can feel and realize their meanings and implications of my artworks.

My inspiration is the beauty of nature. I feel so much happy surrounded by what I love and enjoy. I will go on taking a photo, enlarging its size, and finally developing it into my artwork. Thus, my artwork is created by my own experiences and feelings influenced by the beauty of nature. It is full of details in every area of the artwork as the beauty of nature is so artistic, sophisticated, and imaginative. The details will show the nature’s stuff and its movement. Effectively, it is made by drawing and painting on digital print technique. The outcome of this technique can successfully reflect my emotions and imagination as its process is complicated and in detail more than usual drawing, so it shows the nature’s textures and art’s elements beautifully and effectively. Thus, I decide to use this technique to make it outstanding and attractive. I strongly believe that nature can help me and other people alleviate our minds and calm down our emotions.  www.instagram.com/radanut.art

6^th Place – Sheri Emerson – “Solitary”

Sheri has been a photographer her entire life, from a child snapping pictures with her 110 camera, to her first SLR, and finally into the digital world. She also has been an artist her entire life, winning her first art competition at the grand old age of five. In the past few years, she has intensively studied both Photoshop and Lightroom to learn how to enhance her photography and turn it into digital art.

In the past seven months, Sheri has been published in “Living the Photo Artistic Life” six times, Readers Digest “Our Canada” magazine, “Photoshop Creative UK” magazine twice, and “Fine Eye Magazine” for fine art photography, and has been recognized for her work in ShiftArt.com challenges as well as winning numerous Facebook “Photo of the Day” challenges. This is her third entry into the Light, Space and Time competition, having garnered a Special Recognition award in the “Abstracts” competition, and both an Honorable Mention and a Special Merit Award in the “Figurative” competition.

Sheri splits her time between Arizona and Labrador, Canada, and is dedicating herself to pushing her digital art and photography even further. Her work is currently being sold on the curated ArtBoja website and can be seen at www.sheriemersonphotography.com  and www.photoartbysheri.ca  

7^th Place – Sharyn Lightfoot – “Morning Web Dance”

Sharyn Lightfoot is a 69-year-old Pennsylvania “city girl" transposed to being a "country gal" by living in rural central Florida.   She married, had 3 children, and did her best as a housewife and a school volunteer as her family grew.

Then it was her turn to learn. Always inspired by the nature around her, Sharyn started to read about creative artistic processes. She decided to refine her rudimentary knowledge about painting and used her own property for scenery and inspiration.

She had done some painting in high school and yearned to get that satisfaction again. After all the reading, she gathered her supplies and started painting. The medium of soft pastel became a new passion.

In 2008 she also joined a pastel society and several other art organizations. Over the years she has honed her artistic skills by taking many pastel workshops.  Over a 9 year period of time, she had garnered 2 awards of “Best of Show," a few “First Place” Awards and many “Merit” Awards.  Sharyn also has had her own “Solo” art show. www.sharynlightfoot.com

8^th Place - Imma Barrera – “Waterfalls at Night”

Imma is a Barcelona-born fine art photographer currently based in Metuchen NJ. She fell in love with photography when she got her first camera when she turned 8 and photography has always been an integral part of her life together with her passion to explore the world.

After completing her Biology degree in Barcelona, she moved to Switzerland and later to the US to pursue her scientific career. Photography was one of the tools she used to collect data for her research and her camera was with her wherever she went. In late 2015, she embarked in a career change and followed her passion for this form of art and joined the New York Institute of Photography to hone her skills and vision.

Imma identifies herself both as a scientist and an artist combining the analytical skills and scientific curiosity, her love of nature and the world around her, with the artistic sense of beauty and storytelling of photography.

She has won several awards for her fine art photography including Third Place Award, Special Recognition Award, and Fourth Place Award in the Overall Winning Category, for the “7th Annual CityScapes" Gallery, the Special Recognition Award for the 2017 "8th Annual Abstracts" Gallery organized by the Light, Space & Time Online Art Gallery.

Imma has also won the Third Place Award in the January 2017 Professional Photographer’s Association of New Jersey, Juried Digital Image Competition, the 2016 First Place Award given by the Edison Arts Society at the Arts on Amboy event in Edison NJ, and the 2016 People’s Choice first place award at the Junebug ArtFest Window Gallery Competition in Metuchen NJ. In addition, she has had her photos displayed in several group and juried shows throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania and a solo exhibit “Magical Hours: From Dusk to Dawn” at Hopewell Valley Vineyards in Pennington NJ.

Imma has traveled extensively and loves to capture the magic and colors of wildlife and nature, the mystery, and mysticism of a landscape, from sunset to sunrise, using long exposures and a variety of filters. She has been inspired by many photographers including Ansel Adams, Arthur Morris, Art Wolf and painters like Georgia O’Keeffe. In addition, she likes to collaborate with her peers in New Jersey and therefore runs a photography Meetup and a Facebook group.

Imma’s goals are bringing the art of photography to the public, creating compelling images that appeal to her own sense of beauty and aesthetics and to inspire in others a desire to explore the world and appreciate and value nature. Therefore, she has offered a series of free educational lectures at the public library in her town and various technical workshops. Her website is http://www.imma.photo

9^th Place - Mason Mansung Kang – “On the Hill, California”

Mason Mansung Kang was born in Korea, retired from 35 years of service in the local business. After retirement, he obtained MFA in oil painting from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco in 2016.

As a Christian, He feels the awe and wonder of the divine providence to see every corner of this world. He thinks the world we live in is truly a beautiful place. Every natural entity is different and unique and this diversity makes the world beautiful.

The visual changes of the natural world, with unending colors and values that exist in light and shadow over each season and over time, create variations of moods and emotions that always affect his mind. He struggles to observe these subtle colors but also enhances the colors that are usually not noticed by untrained eyes. To share this beauty is the goal of his efforts. www.masonmansungkang.com

10^th Place – Maureen Ravnik – “Storm in Gateway Canyon”

Maureen Ravnik was born and raised in Minnesota. A brief visit to Colorado sold her on attending college there to pursue a career in sales & marketing. She stayed and never looked back. Working and traveling a lot in that discipline opened her eyes to the wonders of the American West and reawakened childhood tendencies to be creatively involved in art. After a lengthy career in sales & marketing, she retired and bought her first DSLR and began making images of the American West.

Today, most of her time is spent outdoors taking in and capturing the scenery, wildlife, and exploring other methods for interpreting and sharing what she sees and experiences along the way. Maureen has accomplished many things with her photography including images placed in the Audubon International Top 250, local and nationally juried photography exhibitions, winning placements in monthly club competitions, state park calendars, images selected for use by the City of Littleton, and an images selected by National Geographic for publication. Her work has been the subject of several newspapers and she is currently working on releasing 2 books that will document the beauty and environment of the second largest natural area in the country.

Maureen is an emerging talent whose methods and techniques are largely self-taught. Maureen’s inspiration is derived mostly from her environment. She explores the work of peers and connects on social media mainly to further explore processing techniques and stay on top of new developments in software and camera technology.

Some of her work is strictly an in-camera capture. Some of it involves taking the file from the camera and into the computer to develop composites or several interpretations of the same scene. This helps to keep her eyes open to the many possibilities of how our world can be observed and interpreted.  www.maureenravnik.crevado.com