This year the 33PA Drawing Award received an impressive number of entries, all demonstrating remarkable skill and artistic vision. We are very grateful our esteemed Arts Champion Didi Menendez, Founder of 33PA and Gallery Director of 33 Contemporary Gallery, and to this year’s Jury Panel, particularly April Carter Curator at PoetsArtists and 33 Contemporary Gallery, and award-winning Drawing artist Ed Binkley, who have been going through the entries and making the incredibly difficult decisions. The overall quality of entries was exceptional; we are deeply honoured by our community’s interest in the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize. We have enjoyed drawings made with: graphite, pencils, pen, charcoal, alcohol and acrylic inks, pastels, markers, crayons, bleach, Scratchboard, watercolours, gouache, and 24ct gold leaf.
The Prizes
33PA Drawing Award Finalists
The 33PA Drawing Award 1st prize winner will receive:
- $3,000 USD cash, generously donated by 33PA, a diversified contemporary realism gallery, art community and publication.
- A fully sponsored retreat experience with Art Escape Italy. This prize provides artists with the opportunity to immerse themselves in a creative workshop, led by a renowned contemporary artist. The prize includes 6 nights of accommodation, all meals & beverages (including wine), 5 days of tuition, as well as open studio access, transfers to a from the retreat, use of easels & solvents, plus evening events. Please note that travel expenses and art supplies are not included. The winner of this prize can choose between any of Art Escape Italy’s 2026 Autumn retreats, all set at a secluded villa in the Italian countryside, designed to inspire and enhance your artistic practice.
- 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 100+ 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: 2 million+ followers across all social media platforms).
- Winning artwork published in the December 2026 issue of Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.
- 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 33PA, a diversified contemporary realism gallery, art community and publication.
- The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco, USA, alongside 100+ 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 33PA, a diversified contemporary realism gallery, art community and publication.
- The opportunity to exhibit in the prestigious Beautiful Bizarre Magazine exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco, USA, alongside 100+ 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 Grand Prize Award Winner will be invited to participate in the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine curated exhibition ‘Glimmer’ at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco, CA, United States later this year, alongside 100+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists!
A glimmer is the exact opposite of a trigger. Glimmers are small, everyday moments that make you feel joy, happiness, peace, or gratitude – which can help cue your nervous system to feel safe or calm. [The term was coined by Deb Dana.]
From the 200 Finalists across all Award categories, the Jury Panel will select the Grand Prize Award Winner.
The Grand Prize Award Winner of the 2026 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize will receive:
- 10,000 USD cash, donated by our Platinum sponsors Catherine K. Gyllerstrom, Bearwolf Books, INPRNT, RAYMAR, 33PA and MPB.
- 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 100+ of the world’s best contemporary representational artists.
- Exposure to a successful commercial gallery’s collector base with the opportunity to sell their work.
- 10 page in-depth interview editorial published in Beautiful Bizarre Magazine December 2026 issue.
- Winning artwork printed in the December 2026 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.
- 12 month social media advertising package (Beautiful Bizarre Magazine: 2 million+ followers across all social media platforms).
- A year’s worth of inspiration – a print subscription to Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.
Art & Fable Puzzle Company People’s Choice Award
The Art & Fable Puzzle Company People’s Choice Award Winner will be selected by popular vote from the 200 Finalists. The Art & Fable Puzzle Company People’s Choice Award Winner will receive $1,000 USD cash, generously donated by Art & Fable Puzzle Company.
Voting will open on 2 September [AEDT, Australian Eastern Daylight Time]. To ensure you don’t miss your chance to vote, please join our email mailing list here.
Additionally, the Art & Fable Puzzle Company People’s Choice Award Winner will enjoy a year’s worth of social media advertising through the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine to ensure they are able to connect with the right audience, raise their profile, and of course to grow their social media following. They will also enjoy a Profile listing [including artwork gallery] on the Beautiful Bizarre Artist Directory for 12 months, a 12 month Beautiful Bizarre Magazine print subscription, and an in-depth interview published on the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine and Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize websites, giving readers an insight into their vision and practice!
In addition, each sponsor will choose one outstanding work from their award category to receive an Honourable Mention. Stay tuned to learn more!
The Catherine K. Gyllerstrom Imaginative Realism Award and RAYMAR Painting Award Finalists will be announced later this week. See the BearWolf Books Emerging Artist Finalists here, the Sculpture Award Finalists here, the MPB Photography Award Finalists here and the INPRNT Digital Art Award Finalists here.
So without further ado we are proud to announce the 33PA Drawing Award Finalists of the 2026 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize…
33PA Drawing Award Finalists
2026 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize
“Memento Mori, The Virtue of the Emperor” (Charcoal and graphite on Schoellershammer paper, 70 x 50cm)
Today, more than ever, the world seems to suffer from a loss of humility on the part of its contemporary “emperors,” making Memento Mori, an ancient yet deeply relevant expression, one that does not celebrate death, but the value of a good life. In the artwork, the skull is mirrored in youth, reminding us that the thought of our mortality restores wisdom, truth, measure, humility, and the responsibility to live with greater dignity in uncertain times.
“The Awakening” (Coloured pencils on paper, 42 x 30cm)
My project tells about the circle of life in a deep way, as a series of little awakenings we can observe in every day that we live. Inside ourselves and outside. As nature teaches us. Every subject in “The awakening” has its powerful meaning of resurrection from hardships, resilience, spiritual rebirth and transformation. We just let Nature guide us!
“Still Survive” (Ink on paper, 78 x 109cm)
I remember seeing people grinding rhino horn into powder to drink when I was just a kid. It was such a strange feeling, holding part of an animal from a far-off world that I’d only ever seen on TV. I couldn’t have imagined that what was sold as a miracle cure was built on such terrible suffering. Rhinos have always been one of the animals I adore the most. There’s something so endearing about them: their horn that reminds me of a Triceratops, their tiny legs carrying a massive body, and their quiet, gentle presence. Seeing the horrible things poachers do to rhinos breaks my heart. I just wish people would stop buying rhino horn because if there’s no demand, there’s no killing.
“Overwritten” (Coloured pencil and mixed media on dura-lar and paper, 14 x 11″)
The pattern overlay on top of the portrait in Overwritten is a recurring motif in my work. I’ve attributed it to memory or nostalgia, and in this piece I wanted to convey how memory can alter the perception of another person. Our own biases and experiences create distance between one another. The work also considers the weight of our own memories and how we may unnecessarily hold onto more than we need to.
“Euphoria” (Pen / Pencil / Acrylic Ink / vifArt Watercolour Paper, 53 x 45cm)
Euphoria is a work that expresses a sense of happiness, exhilaration, and emotional uplift—both for myself as the artist and for those who engage with the piece. Composed entirely of intricate lines and dots drawn with a ballpoint pen, the work invites the viewer’s gaze to gradually travel across the surface. From the initial impression, the eye naturally follows various directions, revealing diverse patterns, forms, and visual experiences over time. The piece is created with the intention of offering new discoveries with each viewing. Through this visual journey, I hope to evoke a sense of joy, wonder, and emotional elevation for both the viewer and myself.
“Sanctuary” (Graphite on bristol board, 23 x 15″)
This piece “Sanctuary” is about emotionally and physically creating a safe place in human connections. It describes a balancing act of being selflessly giving without unconditionally surrendering and being innocently open without becoming susceptible to harm.
“For The Lost Flowers” (Mixed Media – Inks, Gouache & Fineliner Pen on Paper, 60 x 85cm)
For the Lost Flowers explores grief and transformation through a moth-like form built from flowers, shadows and tiny gathered figures. My work often uses small individual figures to create larger bodies and symbols. Here, they become part of a fragile ceremonial form, caught between beauty, mourning and new life.
“Clothed in Light” (Soft Pastel, 13 x 32″)
This piece was created as a part of my Fallen but not Forgotten series. I wrote this poem to accompany it: “I sat in the dark and empty / Holding tightly to my youth / Praying for the light to find me / Wishing for a ray of truth / Feeling hopeless I bowed my head I looked within / My worries shed / When I awakened / To my delight / The room was glowing / I was clothed in light.“
“Trama” (Graphite on paper, 65 x 50cm)
“Trama” tries to represent a feeling of sadness and melancholy experienced during a certain period in the artist’s life, as well as the sense of not knowing what action to take or how to move forward.
“I go to the Barn Because…” (Sanded charcoal on paper, 54 x 32″)
I Go to the Barn Because… explores the profound bond between animals and people. Using my daughter as a stand-in, I captured a relationship I deeply longed for as a girl growing up in Montana. Upon looking closer at that yearning, I realized I was looking for an escape – a protector, and a being to give me the emotional sanctuary I wasn’t receiving within my own family dynamic. My art allows me to re-imagine my own story thus recognizing where healing needs to occur.
“Upon Encountering Cerberus” (Charcoal, Conte’ and Pencil, 37 x 64″)
A drawing that is part of my series “Through Dogs’ Eyes”. These works anthropomorphize the fears, failure and hubris in our surrender to environmental collapse and technological fascism.
“where tf am I?” (Pastel on paper, 60 x 100″)
A queer club scene depicted with pastel, creating an emotional motif with the delicate and smoky manipulation of my material that further references the impetuous actions that come with youth while also highlighting its impermanence. The lyrical composition allows the viewer to immerse themselves in a universe of pictorial poetry and the overall theatrical nature of romance.
“May Have Been The Garden of Eden” (Graphite on Paper, 7 x 5″)
A Being checks the hour before the unmingling of day and night. Observed only by avian fishers, protected by serpents.
“Shadow Spinning” (Graphite, Coloured Pencil on Paper, 22 x 34″)
This piece represents the calling of the unconscious mind by the conscious one, and vice versa.
“The Labyrinth Map” (Mixed media: graphite, watercolour and gold leaf on Arches paper, 61 x 93cm)
I drew it in the hand of Mercator, cartographer of a world that refuses to hold still. The map records a labyrinth: nine eras stacked around a central Tower, surveyed from memory, annotated with doubt. A chart of a moving place is already a lie; I wanted the lie to be beautiful, and honest about itself. Floating islands carry cities grown over centuries. Twenty-six medallions ring the survey like portholes: an age-old oak, a beacon isle, arenas swallowed by their own maze. Hand-laid gold vines and violets bind the borders, and rays crown the Tower like a false sun. Three medallions stay blank, for the places that would not be drawn. The map is not a map. It is a door, made before you arrived.
“The Glorious, Irreversible Truth” (PanPastel & Graphite on Paper, 40 x 40″)
There are moments in life that unlock something inside us — sudden, unexpected, irreversible. A quiet truth we’ve long carried rises to the surface and finally speaks. Once it does, there’s no putting it back. Speaking your truth, even softly at first, can crack everything open — flooding your life with change, discomfort, vibrancy, and beauty you once thought belonged to another version of you. When you let your truth out, it paints the world in your true colours. There’s no undoing it. And it’s absolutely beautiful. Have you ever cracked your own life open, revealing a truer you?
“Unforgiving Observer” (Coloured pencil on Grafix® Drafting Film, 24 x 18″)
Facing one’s true self, the vanity or fragility of life, and the emotional, often painful, journey of looking inward. It explores how we construct our identities and how the world reflects our inner state. Impersonal, truthful, and sometimes cold or consuming.
“The Oracle’s Priestess” (Graphite and charcoal pencils on canvas, 152 x 121cm)
The Oracle’s Priestess is a graphite and charcoal reclamation of ancient Black history, born from a 1,000-hour exploration of identity and myth. By weaving together Thebes, Dodona, Igbo beads, and Akwete fabric, the piece honors unbowed lineage and ancestral truth. It stands as a quiet pushback against historical erasure, a timeless portrait where a silenced voice finally commands the sky and reclaims her presence in the dark. Now She’s finally seen!
“To Be or Not To Be” (Coloured Pencils on 300 gr Fabriano Paper, 80 x 66cm)
Inspired by Hamlet, To Be or Not To Be represents the threshold between life and death. The Hummingbirds carry both nectar and the symbolism of fleeting vitality, while the apple-skull embodies a duality: a memento mori that reminds us of our inevitable mortality, and at the same time, the sweetness of earthly pleasures, desire, and the precious brevity of our existence. “To die, to sleep, to sleep: perchance to dream.” (Hamlet, Act III, Scene I, William Shakespeare).
“Big Fish” (Pen and ink on paper, 115 x 85cm)
Big Fish is an artwork where fragility and violence intertwine. The mermaid, suspended after her capture, retains a limp calm that evokes a struggle for survival even beyond death. Her rigid posture perpetuates her tragic fate and questions the ephemeral nature of myth. The piece belongs to the series “The Death of Myth”, which explores our condition as vulnerable beings facing the mysteries of life and death.
“Prophecy of the End of Days as Foretold by the Cult of Lobster” (Watercolour, Metallic Watercolour, Charcoal and glitter decoupage on paper mounted to wood canvas, 20 x 20″)
The End of Days as Foretold by the Cult of Lobster is a humorous take on apocalyptic prophecy, imagining the end of the world through the bizarre theology of an entirely fictional lobster cult. Inspired by the epic drama of religious iconography, it replaces solemn revelation with playful absurdity, inviting viewers to laugh at humanity’s endless appetite for predicting the end of the world.
“The Black Angel” (Charcoal on paper, 135 x 100cm)
The Black Angel arises from the need to question traditional symbols of good and evil. The winged figure represents neither a fallen being nor a dark entity, but rather the complexity of the human being: beauty coexisting with fragility, strength with vulnerability, and hope with suffering.
“Mujer con ramo” (Ink, graphite and charcoal on canvas, 100 x 67cm)
The idea for this work arose from my childhood memories. I would see women dressed in mourning for the loss of a close relative. They would endure wearing their black clothing for at least a year. It was very common among older women, but it struck me deeply in the young women, especially because of the contrast between the primal and the beautiful. In these latest works, my intention is to incorporate elements that are very significant to my homeland, Galicia, such as the mountains, the sea, the wind, the fog, the rain, the fire, the magic… and in this way, to reconnect with my origins.
“The Big Bad Wolf” (Graphite & Charcoal on Paper, 20 x 16″)
This piece represents the story of Little Red Riding Hood. The model is my mother, and she is portraying Red and the grandmother together as one. Also included are the three oak trees and the wolf in the form of origami. The question is, which one is truly the big bad wolf?
“La Candelaria” (Charcoal and graphite on paper, 59 x 40cm)
We all carry the knowledge, somewhere beneath reason and beyond words: that in moments of obscurity, a single spark of Life is enough to break through the darkness. We remember it each time darkness ceases to be a protective and generative presence and becomes an impenetrable landscape. To that inner knowing we return, again and again, whenever we need hope and grace to find us once more. In the flame of a simple candle, held in our hands, lies our reconciliation with the living unknown.
The 2026 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize is proudly sponsored by:
PLATINUM SPONSORS
GOLD SPONSORS
SILVER SPONSORS
BRONZE SPONSORS
MEDIA PARTNERS
ACADEMIC PARTNERS
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