ABSTRACT
APRIL 2026
BEST IN SHOW
DIANE LEON
* INNER SPIRIT *
Mixed media
“Abstract painting gives me a sense of freedom. I use color and texture as my visual language. The handling of acrylic paint and mixed media on canvas or paper is influenced by nature’s powerful energy and a sense of place within me. Layers of color, along with mixed media are important elements in my art. I work without a preconceived idea. How the completed work reveals itself develops with many revisions. I start by an application of color with my palette knife and/or brush. As the paint and texture builds up it forms an abstract composition that gives the painting a life of its own. The work is finished only when it ‘feels’ right to me. It is an emotional rather than intellectual process that determines whether I consider it a ‘successful’ painting. Abstraction is my way to express what is inside of me.” — DIANE LEON
DIAMOND AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
COOLBYRON
* NEW DISTRICT AD24367B6 *
Digital
“The concept is developed from Art And Technology Of Design and from a sophisticated concept of intrinsic value of space. My work explores the nature of colour and abstracted impressionism in contemporary art and investigates ideas related to man’s impact on nature. I created a new style of Techno-Expressionism which incorporates both hand and digital technologies for colour advancement. The composition is an image that integrates colour fields and structured forms using latex mediums, encaustic, pigments and acrylic on canvas or prints. Colour developed to be painterly is my focus.” — COOLBYRON
DIAMOND AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
JOHN DIEPHOUSE
**RUBY ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2024**
**CRYSTAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2023**
* ECTOPLASMATIC FILTER *
Digital collage
"I am a self-taught photographer and digital collage artist and am attracted to a wide variety of subjects ranging from natural landscapes, botanicals and wildlife to images that provide either abstract expression or social commentary. I am interested in sharing images that evoke a story of some kind. Images may be simply documentary, reflect a sense of time and place or resonate on a more abstract level of color, shape or form. Others provoke an indefinable question that does not readily yield answers without further study and reflection.” — JOHN DIEPHOUSE
DIAMOND AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
LONG PHI TRAN
* THE FLOW OF VISIONS *
Ink on paper
“My artistic practice is deeply rooted in the mastery of traditional East Asian ink on paper — a medium that demands both precision and spontaneity. In this artwork I embrace the fluidity and unpredictable nature of ink itself, allowing it to bleed and coalesce into visions that exist in a suspended, dream-like state. My work bridges a centuries-old discipline with a personal, modern consciousness.” — LONG PHI TRAN
EMERALD AWARD
ROLAND KAISER
* ENLIGHTED_SCARS *
Digital
“The extensive story of my work actually began over 50 years ago, when, during a hospital stay, I realized that I needed to counteract the pain, the SCARs and the loneliness there with something positive. I began to indulge my creative passion with my first drawing, Rainy July Day. Since then, I have always sought new forms of expression for my art to address life's challenges, puzzles and uncertainties. Over the years, not only did I realize what I had created — putting my SCARs on the canvas, hence calling them: SC_ARTs — but I also began to delve deeper into digital art discovering the countless possibilities this technology offers, while simultaneously maintaining a focus on my artistic and spiritual roots.” — ROLAND KAISER
RUBY AWARD
GABRIELE GRACINE
**EMERALD ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2021**
* SOMEWHERE *
Digital
“I am a self-taught digital artist.
I create intuitively, guided by an inner muse as I relinquish control and expectations.”
— GABRIELE GRACINE
SAPPHIRE AWARD
LINDA MCCORD
**SAPPHIRE ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2022**
* URBAN CRUISE *
Mixed media
“This is part of my In Transit series, exploring movement through urban spaces — both physical and emotional. Working in layers of acrylic, charcoal and pastel, I build and partially obscure architectural forms, street elements and atmospheric passages. Diagonal lines and shifting values create a sense of motion, while textured marks suggest fragments of memory-like glimpses seen from a moving car or train. The city becomes both landscape and metaphor, reflecting transition, resilience and the quiet energy of change.”
— LINDA MCCORD
CRYSTAL AWARD
(in random order)
AWARD OF MERIT
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HONOURABLE MENTION
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**WINNERS VIDEO**