THE SPRING COUNTDOWN SHOW
One artwork will be selected and revealed every day
starting March 6th until March 20th, 2026 ending in a group show of 15 artworks.
For the first 5 days, the Official Selections will be revealed in random order.
The following and remaining 10 days are reserved for the top artworks,
which will count down from 10th place to the 1st place winner
and the first day of Spring: March 20th.
MARCH 6st to MARCH 10th -- OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
MARCH 11th to MARCH 16th -- 10th to 5th PLACE CRYSTAL AWARDS
MARCH 17th -- 4th PLACE EMERALD AWARD
MARCH 18th -- 3rd PLACE SAPPHIRE AWARD
MARCH 19th -- 2nd PLACE RUBY AWARD
MARCH 20th -- 1st PLACE DIAMOND AWARD
1st PLACE DIAMOND AWARD - MARCH 20TH
JAY JOHANSEN
**SAPPHIRE ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2024**
Golden Wings and Summer Things - Acrylic
“My art explores identity, emotion and legacy. Through portraits I capture not just likeness but essence, using bold palettes and textures to evoke nostalgia, intrigue and reflection inviting viewers to connect with deeper stories. Legacy, history & experience — that’s what makes the story telling, by way of oil & acrylic mediums — approachable, relevant & enduring.” — JAY JOHANSEN
2nd PLACE RUBY AWARD - MARCH 19TH
NIKOLA GOCIC
**RUBY ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2025**
The Snake Lord - Digital collage
"Guided by intuition and spontaneity, I persist in exploring the farthest recesses of the subconscious mind in what can be dubbed 'archaeology of self'. Often, the artifacts found or rather, created in the process defy all attempts to be rationalized or precisely defined, posing as hazy reflections of a primordial dream invoked through the echoes of a pagan ritual. One such enigma is The Snake Lord - an entity / pseudo-deity that remains unfathomable in spite of the ecologically conscious clarity of the image and its overt homoeroticism." — NIKOLA GOCIC
3rd PLACE SAPPHIRE AWARD - MARCH 18TH
JOHN DIEPHOUSE
**RUBY ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2024**
**CRYSTAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2023**
The Dance - Photography
“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
4th PLACE EMERALD AWARD - MARCH 17TH
ANNITA APOSTOLIDOU PLATIS
**EMERALD ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2025**
Mellifera - Mixed media digital collage
"In Mellifera, I explore seasonal awakening as both renewal and quiet resilience. The honeycomb crown suggests unseen industry and collective labor. Though no bees appear, their presence is implied in the dripping gold — sweetness born of persistence. Honey nourishes, yet the idea of the sting lingers beneath it, a metaphor for the courage required to rise and defend life again after stillness. Poppies, daisies, peonies and tulips bloom among vintage botanical pages, like announcements heralding a new season and the promise of hope. Two teapots suggest a shared ritual — the passing of news, warmth and sweetness between souls. Encased in a gold frame, the muse appears deliberately posed, as if this moment is being formally declared. The frame does not freeze time. It acknowledges a recurring truth that renewal, memory, warning and beginning are constants in the human cycle, repeating across seasons and across us. This work is part of The Seasons – Special Edition series."
— ANNITA APOSTOLIDOU PLATIS
5th PLACE CRYSTAL AWARD - MARCH 16TH
LINDA MCCORD
**SAPPHIRE ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2022**
What We Carry - Mixed media
6th PLACE CRYSTAL AWARD - MARCH 15TH
BACKROADS INFINITY
Dragonflies Of Bethesda - Photography
9th PLACE CRYSTAL AWARD - MARCH 12TH
GABRIELE GRACINE
**EMERALD ARTIST OF THE YEAR 2021**
Cascade - Digital
**OFFICIAL SELECTIONS**
OFFICIAL SELECTION - MARCH 8TH
AMPARO MOREIRA SANTOS
The Diamond Dove - Watercolour
