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

The winning artists will now be featured on the Light Space & Time website for the month of November 2018 and thereafter, the artworks and links to the artist’s websites will remain online in the Light Space & Time Archives.

The overall winning artists’ category of the "Nature" Art Exhibition will receive extensive worldwide publicity and promotion.  In addition, the overall winning artists will also receive extensive worldwide publicity in the form of email marketing, 550+ press release announcements, event announcement posts, and social media marketing. 

Winning artists will also have their art exhibition results posted and promoted on ArtJobs/ArtWeek. Artweek/Artjobs produces 800,000-page impressions per month, 280,000 website visitors per month and has 30,000 newsletter subscribers.  

Congratulations to our artists who made our 8th Annual “Nature” 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 “Nature” 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 Nature Home Page here.

1st Place - Judith Edwards-White – “The Botanist”

Judith Edwards-White lives in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. As a small child, she was always interested in art and loved coloring books to color in the drawings with pencils and paint. Her love of painting continued into adulthood until 2008, when browsing the internet, she discovered “scratchboard art” on the website Wet Canvas, and ever since it is a medium she is passionate about.

She is totally self-taught in the use of oils, acrylics, and scratchboard and has had no formal training whatsoever. Scratchboard – “an unglamorous name for beautiful art” an appropriate quote she read by another artist recently, is quite labor-intensive and requires many hours to do a small area of work by “scratching” or “cutting” (another term used) by using only the tip of an Xacto blade thousands of lines or dots onto the blackboard to create the image. Although time-consuming, this medium is very therapeutic and addictive. Color can be added to the image with inks, watercolors or watercolor pencils.

Animals are fabulous subjects to work on in the medium and are her most favorite as it is perfect for creating the texture of fur and feathers as well as dramatic light and shade. In addition, still life, portraits, botanical and landscapes are also perfect for the medium.

In March 2009 Judith’s work appeared at the Dean Johnson Gallery Indianapolis USA “Scratching the Surface” which was the first known international show of scratchboard art and in 2011 she applied to become a Master Scratchboard Artist (MSA) after the International Society of Scratchboard Artists (ISSA) was formed and Judith became one of the first two MSA’s in Australia and is now one of only four MSA’s in the country.

Judith has had numerous Australian publications showing her scratchboard art, as well as it being featured on the covers, and workshops showing her scratchboard process. She has won many awards for her scratchboard art with a highlight being when she was approached by the Australian Ashdene company to have one of her scratchboard pieces, “Freckle the koala,” produced on their coffee mugs, scatter trays, teabag holders and coasters.

Judith’s scratchboard art is in private collections in Australia, New Zealand, China, the United Kingdom, and the USA. Her website is https://judithedwards-white.weebly.com

2nd Place - Nicole Wilde - "The Lookouts"

Nicole Wilde was born in Brooklyn, New York but always felt California’s siren call of freedom and creativity. In 1987, she moved to Los Angeles. From an early age, Nicole had written poetry and short stories, followed by song lyrics, some of which were put to music for bands in which she played bass guitar. And yet, she still longed for a way to express her creativity in a visual format.

Possessing a “good eye” but lacking a good camera, she purchased her first DSLR in 2012 and began a driving, all-encompassing attempt at learning photography through books, online videos, and workshops. She expanded her knowledge of Photoshop in the same way and eventually combined the two disciplines, thereby finally finding her creative outlet in digital art.

Nicole’s other lifelong passion is animals. She volunteered at rescues and shelters, photographed dogs to improve their chances of adoption, and co-ran a rescue sanctuary in California for wolves and wolfdogs, where three of the residents came home to live with her for ten years until their passing. It was inevitable that her love of animals and nature would find its way into her art. All of Nicole’s images begin with one or more of her photographs, which are taken in natural settings, zoos, or sanctuaries, and are then enhanced in Photoshop.

Nicole and her husband live in southern California with their two rescued northern breed dogs and boatloads of dog hair. Her website is www.photomagicalart.com

3rd Place – Raymond Besserdin - "The Path to Gondwana"

Ray Besserdin developed his special love of art with paper from a very early age, growing up in an artist family. Also always a lover of nature, Ray received a degree from La Trobe University in Biological Sciences before returning to his greater passion for art.

Directly beginning a professional career in design and illustration, Ray freelanced to advertising agencies and publishers and by 1989 his childhood experience with paper spawned his first 3D paper sculpture design, a logo for Spicer's Paper. It was key to the most successful print advertising campaign the company had to that date.

The past now laid the path for a future vision where the 3D sculptured paper would become the medium for both nature art and fine art. Uniquely, Ray's science background gave a valuable foundation for deeply understanding his medium and positioning him to develop ways to provide endless creative possibilities and long-term archival outcomes that generations could enjoy an investment in.

Ray's work ranges from miniature to gigantic, from abstract to ultra-realistic representation, and even wearable gowns. His most beloved pieces exhibit what some have described as “a flowing motion that stimulates emotion” and not uncommonly bring a tear to many eyes. Ray has some 20 awards, including two gold from New York.

Corporate clients have included Macquarie Bank, Amcor and the Northern Territory Government of Australia, (for whom he created what included two 21ft x 12ft paper sculptures, which on length by height are arguably the world’s largest) and Ford Motor Company to mention just a few. Private commissions hang in London, New York, Germany, Sweden, New Zealand and throughout his home of Australia.

He was recently elected Ambassadeur pour l'Australie de Mondial Art Acadamie", (Australian Ambassador for the Mondial Art Academy), France 2018. His website: www.papersculptureartist.com

4th Place - Dr. Ann Lindahl - "Quadriptych Panel 4 - Mating Ritual 4 - Later, Eaglets in Nest"

As an artist at heart, I have painted, drawn and done many forms of art since early childhood taking every opportunity to further my education along the way.

With a great love of animals and the outdoors, I look forward to creating one of a kind treasured pet and animal portraits in acrylic from good quality animal photos.

Each painting takes at least 2-3 weeks or up to months (as in the case of the Bald Eagle Mating Ritual Quadryptch which took 10 months to paint) to create treasure portraits.

And someday I hope to also paint a winning Federal Duck Stamp entry. Her website is https://squareup.com/store/ann-lindahl-studio

5th Place - Lou Ann Goodrich - "Cougar and Kittens"

A lifelong resident of the Pacific Northwest, Lou Ann Goodrich currently resides in Oregon where she maintains forested acreage preserved for wildlife.

She is a proponent for a balanced environment and habitat conducive to maintaining diversity and sustainability for wildlife and the natural world. Animals have always been a large part of her life and after retiring from a career in medicine she pursued photography to record and express the beauty of nature.

Now a passionate nature and wildlife photographer, she particularly strives to portray species-specific behavior in her images. Recently she has diversified and added digital photo artistry to her skills which allows an additional creativity and artistic presentation of her images. Although new to the art world she is gaining recognition through published images and awards in photography and digital art. Her website: www.louanngoodrich-photoartist.com

6th Place - George Ann Johnson - "Overlooking"

George Ann Johnson is a nationally recognized wildlife artist. Her work has been published in various venues, including books, magazines, and catalogs and has been shown in numerous galleries. Professionally, George Ann has been an active artist for over 30 years. Having a strong natural talent, she initially began her art career painting professional racehorses to help support her own horse business. This eventually led her to start her own commercial art company. Her Kansas City-based company was utilized by businesses throughout the Midwest, California, and Hawaii.

After several years of commercial art, she began her career in fine art by studying at the Danforth Museum of Fine Art in Boston. Her training at the Danforth propelled her to study with numerous artists through short courses and workshops. Through this training, George Ann has continually refined her skill as an artist. In an effort to give back, George Ann has utilized this training to present various workshops and demonstrations and has taught at East Central University.

George Ann has been a member of numerous art guilds and organizations throughout the United States including the Colored Pencil Society of America (CPSA) and International Society of Scratchboard Artists (ISSA). She acted as President for the CPSA Oklahoma Chapter and CPSA District Chapter Developer for the Eastern United States. She currently is an active member of the Corpus Christi Art Center and Rockport Art Center.

George Ann is a realist artist. Although she has worked in watercolor and oils, George Ann’s principal media are scratchboard and colored pencil. It has been her recent exploration in the media of scratchboard that has allowed her to produce the high level of realism that is warranted by her talent and skill.

Her work has captured national attention. Her recent recognition in competitions by The Southwest Artist Magazine and The Artist Magazine as well as becoming Merit Finalist in the national Dimensions Art Show and prestigious Rockport Texas Art Center are clear evidence that her work is increasing in popularity and value. Her website: www.gajart.com

7th Place - Christina Brunton - "Speckled Black Cockatoo Blue"

Fifteen years ago Christina Brunton learned how to paint and later started photography as a way to capture images as a reference for her oil paintings, but work commitments made it hard to find the time to paint. The idea was to take photos of beautiful scenes she saw whilst traveling and later paint them when the time was available. Christina never went back to oil painting, as photography had taken over.

It wasn't until Christina learned to take photographs and made into works of art through digital artistry, that she was able to merge her passions of painting and photography.

Christina states, “Creating artwork is a way of life that sings to her”. Her website: www.christinabrunton.com

8th Place - Cher Anderson - "The Hunter"

Cher begun her journey as a fine artist in 1980 and her art has evolved into extreme photo-realistic images that entail the finest detailed brushwork. Hundreds of hours are needed to accomplish the finished representations that she paints today.

A painting begins with a subject, which she photographs in its element by going to habitats throughout the world. Once back in her studio, she determines the best image to work from taking into consideration lighting, background and the general feeling the image conveys. Once a detailed sketch is produced the work begins that sometimes takes months to finalize.

Cher is always trying to learn new techniques and methods, she studies the masters and applies bits and pieces of knowledge to make sure every new painting is better and more precise than the one before. Mainly working in watercolors, gouache, and acrylics she brings her subjects to life and all the while remembers the moment when she looked into the animal’s eyes and met him for the first time trying to portray the story of the occasion.

During the past 20 years, Cher has experienced firsthand the beauty of nature in all ecosystems throughout the world. Passionate about animals and intrigued by their behavior she describes it to be the equivalent of a surge of adrenaline felt by a thrill seeker. Getting that one photograph that is absolutely perfect is the most rewarding of all. Her website: www.ChersCreations.com

9th Place - Barbara Mierau-Klein - "Lanner Falcon"

Barbara Mierau-Klein is a digital artist recognized for her multi-layered, imaginative and colorful fine art images. A native of Germany, Barbara lives in the Washington, D.C. area but often travels the world as a passionate landscape and nature photographer since her teenage years.

Barbara discovered digital art several years ago and became so fascinated that it turned into a full-time pursuit. Much of Barbara’s work is highly stylized and focuses on beautiful moments and evocative moods across a wide range of subjects. The inspiration for her images comes from many sources like books, song lyrics, movies, nature and works of other artists, old masters as well as contemporary digital artists.

Barbara’s work has been exhibited at the Heaven Art Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona and the Orenda Gallery in Reno, Nevada. She has had nine top-ten placements in online juried art competitions at the Light Space Time Art Gallery and Fusion Art Gallery over the past year. Her work has also appeared regularly in Living the Photo Artistic Life Magazine and Fine Eye Magazine with a feature article on her work in August 2018.

With her digital art creations, Barbara seeks to impart a sense of wonder and invite the viewer to step into a different reality for a brief moment. Her website: www.BarbaraMierauKlein.com 

10th Place - John Guiseppi - "Green Peafowl"

John Guiseppi was born and grew up Ohio, he moved to Central Florida in the late 1970s after several years in the United States Marine Corps. John received his Bachelor of Science in Information Technology Degree from the University of South Florida.

Recently John retired after working 27 years in the power generation municipal utility field. John is now able to spend time working on art and photography. John is married and has two children, and two fur kids, he refers to them as “fursons”.

John is a self-taught colored pencil artist and wildlife/nature photographer. His specialty is photographing wildlife in activity or poses considered outside the norm and familiar. Those unusual positions during grooming, mating ritual, breeding display, or just being silly. John waits patiently for just the right moment, one that is different but unique to his subject.

He strives to capture the moment that others miss, don’t see or notice. John then uses his photography to produce and share an art piece that allows others a glimpse of that secret world of wildlife that he sees. His website is www.facebook.com/guiseppi.art.in.nature