2024 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize: Digital Art Award Winners Announced!
Once again, we would like to thank all of the artists that entered and shared their work and their artistic passion with us. It was such a pleasure to immerse ourselves in the work of so many creatives, working across varied mediums and styles, and reading their stories.
Thank you & Acknowledgements
Beautiful Bizarre Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Danijela Krha Purssey has the pleasure of curating each issue of the magazine and our exhibitions. The Art Prize entries will continue to give her a plethora of new ideas and choices to pursue in future. So thank you again for your interest in the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize, we very much hope to see how your work has grown and developed in next year’s Prize.
We would also like to sincerely thank the 2024 Jury Panel: particularly the Digital Art Category Judge Karla Ortiz, who gave her time and expertise to the panel. Additionally, I warmly thank the other Category Judges: Michael Parkes (Traditional Art juror), Kirsty Mitchell (Photography juror) and Erika Sanada (Sculpture juror), as well as the Directors of Modern Eden Gallery, Kim Larson & Bradley Platz.
To our major sponsors: Tracey Maigne & Keeley Gerard, Owners and Directors of Musonium Gallery; 33PA‘s CEO, Marketing Director & Curator, Didi Menendez; RAYMAR President & Creative Director, Emilie Dietrich; Yasha Young Projects Founder Yasha Young; and the Owner & Art Director of BearWolf Books, Catherine K. Gyllerstrom – our deepest gratitude for supporting this year’s Prize. It is through your support and generosity that the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize is able to acknowledge and uplift so many incredible artists and photographers from around the world.
As always a huge thanks to the Beautiful Bizarre team for their dedication and hard work on behalf of the prize and winners all-year round, and of course to my partner, Beautiful Bizarre Magazine‘s Co-Founder Richard Purssey.
Our sincere thanks to this year’s Digital Art Award sponsors listed below. It is through their generosity that the Digital Art Award Winners will be able to enrich their practice.
Digital Art Award
The Digital Art Award 1st prize winner will receive:
- $3,000 USD cash generously donated by Platinum sponsors.
- USD$375 cash, plus a US$375 gift card to use at GelaSkins.com, and the opportunity to have a collection with the brand, all generously donated by GelaSkins. GelaSkins create artist-designed premium cases and skins, supporting independent artists since 2005.
- Artist Pro 16 (Gen 2), generously donated by XPPen. XPPen is a globally notable brand celebrating digital art innovation, providing digital drawing products, content and services to encourage artists to pursue their dreams and authentic self-expression.
- Rebelle 7 Pro, plus US$60 worth of additional Paper, Canvases and Other Art Surfaces, generously donated by Escape Motions. Rebelle is the award-winning, hyper-realistic painting software with paint pigments colour mixing, oil thickness, watercolour diffusion and NanoPixel technology, which convincingly mimics the way natural media interact with the canvas and itself.
- A 24-month license to Clip Studio Paint EX, generously donated by Celsys. Clip Studio Paint is the digital artist’s app for drawing and painting anything from character and concept art to fine art illustration, and even professional animation. All of the powerful features are available on all major platforms to explore at home or on the go.
- A beautiful, specially commissioned glass art award trophy.
- The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery, in San Francisco, USA, alongside 70+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists.
- Exposure to a successful commercial gallery’s collector base with the opportunity to sell their work.
- 3 month social media advertising package (Beautiful Bizarre Magazine: 1 million+ followers across all social platforms).
- Winning artwork printed in the December 2024 issue of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, as part of the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize editorial.
- Exclusive in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine websites + shared across Beautiful Bizarre Magazine social media.
- Profile listing [including artwork gallery] on the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory for 12 months. The go-to platform for artists, curators and collectors to discover exceptional artists and explore their work.
- A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.
2nd prize winner will receive:
- $1,000 USD cash, generously donated by Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.
- Artist Pro 14 (Gen 2)generously donated by XPPen. XPPen is a globally notable brand celebrating digital art innovation, providing digital drawing products, content and services to encourage artists to pursue their dreams and authentic self-expression.
- Rebelle 7 Pro, generously donated by Escape Motions. Rebelle is the award-winning, hyper-realistic painting software with paint pigments colour mixing, oil thickness, watercolour diffusion and NanoPixel technology, which convincingly mimics the way natural media interact with the canvas and itself.
- A 12-month license to Clip Studio Paint EX, generously donated by Celsys. Clip Studio Paint is the digital artist’s app for drawing and painting anything from character and concept art to fine art illustration, and even professional animation. All of the powerful features are available on all major platforms to explore at home or on the go.
- The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery, in San Francisco, USA, alongside 70+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists.
- Exposure to a successful commercial gallery’s collector base with the opportunity to sell their work.
- Exclusive in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine websites + shared across Beautiful Bizarre Magazine social media.
- Profile listing [including artwork gallery] on the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Artist Directory for 12 months. The go-to platform for artists, curators and collectors to discover exceptional artists and explore their work.
- A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.
3rd prize winner will receive:
- $500 USD cash, generously donated by Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.
- Deco Pro (Gen2) XLW generously donated by XPPen. XPPen is a globally notable brand celebrating digital art innovation, providing digital drawing products, content and services to encourage artists to pursue their dreams and authentic self-expression.
- Rebelle 7 Pro, generously donated by Escape Motions. Rebelle is the award-winning, hyper-realistic painting software with paint pigments colour mixing, oil thickness, watercolour diffusion and NanoPixel technology, which convincingly mimics the way natural media interact with the canvas and itself.
- A 12-month license to Clip Studio Paint PRO, generously donated by Celsys. Clip Studio Paint is the digital artist’s app for drawing and painting anything from character and concept art to fine art illustration, and even professional animation. All of the powerful features are available on all major platforms to explore at home or on the go.
- The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery, in San Francisco, USA, alongside 70+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists.
- Exposure to a successful commercial gallery’s collector base with the opportunity to sell their work.
- Exclusive in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine websites + shared across Beautiful Bizarre Magazine social media.
- Profile listing [including artwork gallery] on the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Artist Directory for 12 months. The go-to platform for artists, curators and collectors to discover exceptional artists and explore their work.
- A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.
The Winners in each Award category and the Musonium Grand Prize Award Winner will be invited to participate in ‘Paracosmic Escape’ exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco, United States later this year, alongside 70+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists! ‘Paracosmic Escape’ is an international group exhibition Curated by: Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, with Art Direction/Theme Conceptualization by: Musonium Gallery.
‘Paracosmic Escape’ explores themes of retrospection, introspection, and complex relationships with the real world, where internal gateways offer a place of sanctuary to heal from and provide explanation to the effects of reality. ~ Keeley Gerard (Art Director of Musonium Gallery)
Congratulations to the 2024 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize Digital Art Award Winners: Siana, VZEWL, and Tristan Elwell!
3rd Prize Winner
Siana Park
Currently resides: USA
“Epilogue of A Tragedy” (Photoshop)
Siana Sunghee Park is an illustrator/concept artist based in Los Angeles. She is originally from South Korea and studied in San Francisco. After focusing on using traditional medium such as charcoal, watercolor and oil at the Academy of Art University, she developed a digital art portfolio and has been working in the entertainment industry since 2014.
“Epilogue of A Tragedy”: Not all love story have perfect happy endings. When the most tragic plot unfolds the noble lady chose the worst ending for herself. A golden goblet filled with poisoned wine, that is now flowing into her throat and to the knight’s, will soon be dropped onto the ground covered with debris, leaving echos of clanging sound. The knight, however, is in complete peace. Accepting the impending death, it is also what he’s chosen, and it is his best choice. Is this a sad ending? Or would you say it’s a happy ending?
2nd Prize Winner
VZEWL
Currently resides: Canada
“The Bee’s Knees” (Created in DAZ Studio and Blender. Rendered with Cycles)
VZEWL, Pronounced visual, is a 30 year old 3D Artist from Ontario, Canada. They began their 3D journey at the age of 13 and have been creating ever since. Primarily self-taught, they have honed their craft over the years, especially in the realm of portraiture, where their characters convey deep emotions and complex feelings. VZEWL grapples with emotional struggles, and finds that expressing these through their artwork provides a powerful way to communicate their inner experiences to others. “When I create, I cease to be myself. I don’t like my own work. But I know that VZEWL does. It is an interesting dichotomy that I have really enjoyed observing. It helps that I have an absolute fascination with psychology, and I think that those things go hand in hand quite nicely.”
“The Bee’s Knees”: Anything taken literally can be strange. Idioms and metaphors casually tossed about without any consideration for the objective meanings. Subtlety and nuance are very complex and without relative context, can sometimes go completely unnoticed. Surrealistically looking at a literal interpretation hopefully provokes an intrigued hesitation the next time you use one.
1st Prize Winner
Tristan Elwell
Currently resides: USA
“Inversion” (Photoshop)
Tristan Elwell is a New York based illustrator working in publishing, advertising, editorial, and games. He has done book covers for all the major publishing houses, including Avon, Bantam, HarperCollins, Penguin, Pocket Books, Scholastic, and Tor. His work has appeared in Print, Communication Arts, the Society of Illustrators Annuals, and Spectrum, and has been exhibited at the Society of Illustrators, the Art Director’s Club, the United Nations, and galleries in New York, California, and Europe. He has won the Chesley Award for best paperback cover and been nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist. Tristan lives in the Hudson Valley and teaches drawing, painting, and illustration at the School of Visual Arts.
“Inversion”: Inversion is part of a series depicting figures and their animal avatars in an isolated setting, often on high-wires or other elevated environments. I am strongly influenced by the Symbolists and Decadents of the late 19th century such as Félicien Rops, Fernand Khnopff, and Franz von Stuck.
The 2024 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize
is proudly sponsored by
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