They Know What They Like: International Art Contest Winners Selected by the Public

The winners of the 2001 Peoples Choice Art Contest have been announced by the contests sponsor, The Digital Artist.

The winners of the 2001 Peoples Choice Art Contest have been announced by the contests sponsor, The Digital Artist.

The Grand Prize winner was Alexandre Kapran, for his sculpture Black Queen. Alexandre Kapran emigrated from Russia to Canada in 1990 and now maintains a studio in Toronto. Working mainly in glass, he creates functional and non-functional sculptures using flame-working technology, engraving, sandblasting, stonecutting and metalsmithing. His work is seen in major collections, including The Permanent Collection of the Hermitage State Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia, The Permanent Collection of the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada and The Permanent Art Bank Collection of the Canada Council, Ottawa, Canada.

First Prize in the photography category was awarded to Peter Finger. Born in the Catskills Mountains of upstate New York, USA, and influenced by the painters of the Hudson River School, Peter Finger has been painting and creating images for over 30 years.

Jen Longshaw, of Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, won First Prize in the drawing category for her untitled equine drawing. Jen has had little formal art training but has drawn and painted since childhood. Presently living in a small cottage on a farm with a growing collection of animals she also writes for several websites as well as running a mail-order business selling books, collectibles and artwork with an animal theme.

Retired detective and composite artist Hank Rondina, of Eastchester, New York, USA, won First Place in painting for The Creation of Adam". In 1989, the artist was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a disease that reduces the visual field and greatly increases one's sensitivity to light. This visual problem has led Hank back to painting. He currently uses watercolor, silk screen ink and mixed media

Sandy Strunk, from Virginia, USA, won First Place in the digital art category for her work, January." Sandy has worked in many media in the past, including clay, bronze, silver, acrylics, oils, silkscreen, enamel, paper, beads, and needlepoint. After a series of thefts of her work, the artist found she was unable to complete any further pieces for almost a decade. Sandy then combined her knowledge of computers and her artistic talents to begin anew.

The contest winners were truly the peoples choice. Voting was open for the month of April, 2001, to anyone with access to the internet. Votations.com, a Swiss-based company specializing in the development of polling and survey technologies on the Internet, provided tabulation services.

The contest was sponsored by The Digital Artist, an international internet gallery featuring the works of emerging and established artists from more than two dozen nations. The Digital Artist offers exhibits without cost to provide all artists, designers and artisans with the opportunity to be viewed globally. The website, located at www.thedigitalartist.com, offers additional useful features to artists and art buyers, including online articles about the business of art, free monthly newsletters, a bookstore, daily arts news updates and online, commission-free, sales galleries.

Work by the winners of the Peoples Choice 2001 Art contest can be viewed online at: www.thedigitalartist.com/winners2001.htm.