FCHC Fine Arts Contest 2021

1st Place

“In Color”
Gina Marie Gruss, Florida Atlantic University

“In Color” is a watercolor piece done on 11x15in cold press paper. It is a bird, wings closed, one talon reaching out. It is bleeding color splatters—intentionally loose and free, focusing on color, linework, pattern, and movement. White gel pen is done for detailing. The kaleidoscopic colors are purposefully used as a celebration of LGBTQ+ joy, pride, and in recognition of our history. As a queer woman, I love fusing rainbows and color with flora and fauna—in this case, a Curve-billed Thrasher—to highlight the brightness and form in everything. Watercolors are a fluid medium, like gender and sexuality. It was fun to see how colors interacted and blended, how they dried and bloomed. It shows us the inherent beauty in life, and love, and everything that exists in color.

2nd Place

“Where the Sun Never Sets”
Natalie Souza, Florida Atlantic University 

This artwork is a recreation of a childhood memory. I was born and raised in a simple, but full-of personality city in Brasilia, Brazil. As a 6-year-old, only knowing what was within that region, I remember the excitement of going to school on Wednesday mornings, when we had culinary class. My enthusiasm was really about the adjacent hovel we would visit to gather the necessary ingredients in this gentle sanctuary: the kitchen garden. In the multitude and diversity of vegetables, there was this one sunflower, which was the main character of the garden. Kids, including me, were in awe of its sun-tracking movement as its most plain and precious route to life.

3rd Place

“Calibaird”
Kimia Farhadi, Seminiole State College of Florida

The “calibird” was inspired and created based on two things, the fabulous Cardinalidae bird and calligraphy art which is written in Farsi. The utilized medium is boards and red acrylic paint. In order, to create the texture and give a stronger vision of calligraphy, I used Knife and took out the extra parts off the black paper, then glow up an upper layer to the lower layer that I had painted before.

HONORABLE MENTION

“Bougainvillea”
Julia Latchana, Florida Atlantic University

This is a photo of a Bougainvillea plant taken on August 26 at 4:50 pm. This photo was taken on an iPhone 6s in a vertical format with a focal length of 29 mm, an ISO speed of 25, and an F-stop of 2.2 in HDR

“Horse ‘Capall’”
Alexandra Suarez, Hillsborough Community College

This artwork is the beginning stage of a painting of a red mare. This is to capture the Irish tale of Aine and her horse. The name, unknown.

“The Galaxy Snorb”
Allison MacKenzie, Florida Atlantic University

My piece is on a 10x10 inch canvas and is done in acrylics. It was inspired by a viral home decor piece made by Anthropologie titled "Snail Decorative Object." It went viral and was dubbed the "Snorb" due to it being a combination of a snail with an orb as a shell on its back. I made my own adaptation, adding a red galaxy within the orb. I used a metallic gold paint for the snail body and partially within the center of the orb. I also covered the orb with a clear sealant to achieve a more glossy finish.

“Valentine Lights”
David Engstrom, Florida Atlantic University

Most of my work is digital art. This, however, is a completely unedited photograph. I took the day before Valentine's. I had a pair of those holographic glasses, and I thought it looked nice.

“Gazebo”
Kristina Latchana, Florida Atlantic University

This is a rendering of the Gazebo located in the Robert J. Huckshorn Arboretum at Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College at FAU and was done using a combination of watercolor, gouache, and Prismacolor pencils. This painting is 8.5 x 11 inches.

“Identity”
Maria Landron, Valencia College

Through my piece "Identity" I hope to bring many of the philosophies of life that I have in a page of movement and color. I hope to offer a new perspective entailing purpose and life.

“Wat Mahathat”
Tarruck Wheeler, Palm Beach State College

I took this photo in Thailand at a Temple that is famous because of its Buddhist monks, that hid the Head of a Buddha statue from invading force because pillagers often like to loot the heads of the statues. Later on, the head was re-discovered as a group out of the ground carried by the roots of the Banyan tree believe this symbolizes rebirth and the enduring spirit.

“AREA Closed”
Wei Yu, Jacksonville University

6 months after the attack on U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, fences around the Capitol ground stayed up with signs that read, "AREA CLOSED." Photo was taken on July 5, 2021. The fences had since been removed by July 11, 2021.

“Jacksonville”
Brenda Nocetti, Jacksonville University

Digital Collage of Jacksonville

“Beauty of Duality”
Sidney Martin, Hillsborough Community College

The acrylic painting Beauty of Duality was inspired by the complexity of the human condition. At the center of the canvas is a person represented from the shoulders up, divided into two sides. The left shows their sun-kissed caramel tone with a background depicting a sunrise of beautifully blended vibrant colors over a lake. The right side reveals their cocoa tone enhanced by the moonlight paired with a nighttime scene of snow capped mountains. One of my interpretations is that people can be both ordinary and adventurous. However, this painting lends itself to many interpretations. Life gives us many opportunities to reflect on ourselves and discover our own potential in dualism.