In the beginning of 2010, the NeoPopRealism creator and Juror Nadia Russ announced Winners of 4th NeoPopRealism Starz International Art Competition online. Artists from USA, Canada, Australia, Germany, Bahrain, UK, and other countries submitted their work of all mediums and styles.
And WINNERS are: 1st Place: Blair Barbour (PA, USA), 2nd Place: Sigmund Abeles (NYC, USA), 3rd Place: John Alcock (Australia), Honorable Mention: Claudette Losier (Canada).
Art was always a big part of Blair Barbour's (1st Place Winner) childhood. She said to the NeoPopRealism Journal, “My art career started in high school when I received a national art award from the United States Achievement Academy. I got started showing my artwork in art events and galleries early in life with the support of my parents - my mother is an artist - and went to college and got a degree in Fine Art, receiving the Marion-Ebert Wolle Scholarship.”
Blair Barbour thinks that the most exciting thing about this profession - artist - is creating the artwork itself.
"The medium I use doesn’t allow me to see the piece until the very end for two reasons: I work backwards, starting with the most basic background details and finishing with the top layers and waiting for the acrylic medium to dry letting the art reveal itself,” she said. “I love showing my work and sharing it with the world. There is nothing better than doing what you love as your "job" and, I hope, to inspire others to chase their dreams.” Blair gets her inspiration from “every day life, exciting moments in time might be lost otherwise. I like taking those moments and spending days bringing them to the surface. The little details in life are the most valuable, so don’t miss them!” To the question what she thinks about experimenting in art, Blair Barbour said, “This is such a large question! I believe that visual arts are a form of therapy, expression of the soul, one of the greatest gifts given to every human, and, I hope, each one will utilize that talent in some way. Experimenting is what life is all about and I will continue to experiment and grow with my art, to inspire and give back. Experimenting in visual arts is my life and my duty because art has been the one truth that has pulled us through history and reveals its secrets. Without art and experimentation our world would be a dark, boring place.” Blair Barbour is from a blended family with five sisters and four parents. Her family consists of musicians, writers and artists. Blair’s mother is an exhibiting artist and teacher. Her step-mother was an artist who was always trying new things and showing to Blair how to do them. Art and music have always been around and the support of Blair Barbour’s parents has been the driving force in following her dreams.
“I am living my main dream, and on the path to accomplishing more of my dreams,” Blair said, and continues: “My main dream is to share my visual art with the world’s eyes, next - to share my writing with the world’s ears, and then - to share my future yoga studio with the world’s souls.”
“Blair Barbour’s artwork 'Moulin Rouge' is harmonic and courageous in her choices. She is experimenting with the medium, adding to her technique her talent and spirit,” juror Nadia Russ said.
Sigmund Abeles (2nd Place Winner) said: “Appear to be an artist… It is so hard to keep up appearances, isn't it? Growing up in a small town in SC without any art in the segregated schools, I poured over old Life magazines, my mom filled cabinets with, and ultimately the art articles knocked me out. Otherwise, my only professional dream was to be a jockey and then a horse trainer.” He wanted to become the Diego Rivera of the US Civil Rights Movement, political art, but his true imagery was intimist. Sigmund Abeles was raised by a single parent, his mom. All her family were small business folks. His father's side was rabbinical and professional, but he only met some of them after he was grown and moved to NYC. “My main goal is to keep on making vital, significant art about life/humanity with honesty, intensity and depth and get it seen, even sold,“ Sigmund Abeles said to the NeoPopRealism Journal. “I hope and dream to work to my last day and hope that is at least fifteen years more of image-making." Several months ago, he celebrated his 75th birthday. Sigmund’s artistic career is a success story of a notable artist whose art works can be found in top art museums in the US and Europe, including MoMA, Metropolitan and National Academy of Art, with list of the solo and group art exhibitions and many awards. In 2000, Coastal Carolina University awarded him an honorary doctorate. The same 2000, he had his major one-artist exhibition at Thomas Williams Fine Arts, London, UK. The Pastel Society of America made him their Hall of Fame Honoree for 2004, and in 2006 he was awarded their Degas Pastel Society Award. For many years, Sigmund Abeles was teaching art and continues sharing his great talent with new generations of artists at The Art Students League of New York..
Juror Nadia Russ said about his work, “Sigmund Abeles’s artwork Parasomniac (Self-Portrait) is all about depth and emotionally touching theme. Its color combination and composition (perfect choice) are catching viewers’ attention and asking for emotional respond.”
John Alcock (3rd Place Winner) was born in 1950 in a small county town of Walpeup, in a wheat growing area, in Australia, and grew up surrounded the natural environment. His interest in arts was shaped by his father’s great love to Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. After finishing his school, John went to work in environment, and was traveling a lot. In 1989, he went back to art school and did an Associate Diploma of Visual Arts at Barton institute. He said to the NeoPopRealism Journal, “I think the gift to be given the chance to express oneself as an artist is great in the pleasure it can bring and the responsibility it carries. One is not creative, but one is born that way, with a burning desire to do so. One’s creativity should not be an expression of the ego, but an expression the very soul of the artist.”
John Alcock’s aim is to make the world a better place - at least one person, to help people to see the environment in a different way and “to have a healthy respect for our planet.” “I am often blown away by people’s creative inspiration,” he says. “We should always
strive to be the best person we can be at any given time. In the arts, we should be always attempting to extend ourselves.”
Currently, John Alcock working full time as an artists in the state of Victoria, spending some time with his teenage son.
“John Alcock’s artwork ‘Victoria Spring’ is celebration of beauty, it carries strong positive energy and inspired by Australian nature. John brings his happy fascination on his canvas, creating shapes, and using bright, high energy colors,” juror Nadia Russ said.
Claudette Losier (Honorable Mention) lives and works in Canada. Her work is a reflection of her everyday life, her traveling, her life. She said to the NeoPopRealism Journal, “I like most about being an artist is creating using line, form, values, colour either in drawing or painting and seeing before your eyes something flat pop.” Her winning artwork “Noodling My Doodling With My Neighbor” is a result of her experiments with mixed media and transfer. Claudette graduated from Brock University with a Honors BFA in Fine Arts in 1989. You can find her work in books “Exploring Niagara - The Complete Guide to Niagara Falls and Vicinity,” and in “NeoPopRealism Starz: 21st Century ART,” 1st Vol. by Nadia Russ. Numerous Awards winning artist, in 2006 Claudette Losier began teaching art in different institutions, including Burlington Art Centre.When international art competitions, such as NeoPopRealism Starz, bring professional artists from all over the world together, it is an enjoyable experience for everyone. It includes the deep cultural exchange with learning about achievements of each participant. This fascinating collaboration makes artists richer on ideas, giving lots of inspiration for future work.
May, 2010
All Images Are Copyrighted by Artists 2010 Any Type of Reproduction Is Prohibited
Simon Kavanagh was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1974. He