Highways & Byways Quarterly Art Exhibition Winners - Aug

Best in Show (Traditional)
Cher Pruys

“To take my inner visions with my hands and create a work of art for you the viewer …. That is the ultimate in self expression.”

Cher Pruys was born in Regina. Over the years she lived in many places including Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Fort Frances, settling into her present home in Devlin, on the banks of the Rainy River with her husband Mark, 3 dogs and 2 cats.

By age three, Cher was seldom found without a drawing tool in hand. She worked in pencil, charcoal and ink over the years, until, she picked up a paintbrush at the age of 35. Beginning with oil paints, she found her chosen mediums in acrylic, water color and gouache.

Although self taught, her dedication and talent has seen her work juried into 79 International exhibits, as well as exhibits in numerous non juried shows. She has won 58 awards for her work at the international juried exhibits. Included in these awards, the first recipient of a major Canadian National Award, The Mary Pratt Crystal Award of Excellence at the 2014 SCA Open Juried Exhibition, The SCA 1st place award of distinction twice respectively, 2016, and 2017 at The Canada’s 150 show. The Gold Medal recipient for Figurative Painting in The Mondial Art Academia’s International 2018 Competition. The Aviation Week & Space Technology Award Best of the Best, and the ASAA Award of Distinction for the best painting in the ASAA International Space & Technology Exhibit & Competition, consecutively for 2 years. She has had 14 solo exhibits. Cher is also an avid fused glass artist, and a certified teacher of piano and guitar. Her painting “The Bubble” had the honour of being part of the Masterworks from The International Guild of Realism Tour. She Was Elected to the American Society of Aviation Artists as an artist member in 1996, and eventually Was elected as a Foreign Affiliate Artist Fellow, one of only two Canadians receive this honour. Her work has graced the covers of 3 books, 14 magazines, and has-been featured in over 36 international publications. Cher’s works have found a permanent home in private and public collections worldwide.

Cher’s artistic style can be described as Realism with a hint of Abstract in her latest works.

Please visit Cher’s website if you are interested in seeing more of her work.

Best in Show
(Digital & Photography)
Shelley Benjamin

Shelley Benjamin, a resident of southeast Florida, is an award winning digital artist. She received a BS in Textile Design from Cornell University. After a career as a textile designer and weaver, she became interested in mixed media, and ultimately, photography.

Shelley’s experimentation and involvement with digital photography began after she purchased her first DSLR camera. During the learning process, she joined an international group of digital artists in Sebastian Michael’s Awake and Kaizen groups. With the advanced training she was able to develop her skills, which has allowed her to transform her images to reflect her vision. The inspiration from the group opened up the possibilities of taking photos into a new realm.

She is motivated by the art she sees in museums and galleries. From the time she was young she has always been an avid museum visitor. Her background in weaving exposed her to the art of fine crafts and the masters in those fields.

Shelley uses her photos as the foundation for a digital painterly approach, utilizing modern technology to enhance and transform the original image. Drawing upon her textile design background, she imparts a tactile feeling to her work. She is challenged and inspired by color, reflections, light, the changing seasons, nature and architectural elements. Shelley is always searching for the extraordinary visual imagery in very ordinary environments.

Shelley states that her goal is to share the beauty around her and impart the uplifting feelings to the viewer that are the source of her inspiration. Her work has been exhibited in local and international competitions and in online galleries as well as being featured in national digital photo and print magazines.

Please visit Shelley’s website if you are interested in seeing more of her work.

2nd Place (Traditional)
Cathy Abramson

Cathy Abramson’s oil paintings investigate the stories of the city. These representational paintings examine the emotional subtext of change; the connections or estrangement of people in transitional neighborhoods. She sees moments of poetry in the ordinary. Although she paints particular people and scenes, these paintings about daily life in Washington, DC and other urban settings resonate with everyone.

The urban environment provides the literal setting for Abramson’s paintings but not the narrative. She likes to listen carefully to the stories of each person, painting their portraits and their environment while looking for what lies just beneath the surface. She records scenes that are about recent history, change, nostalgia and social struggle; the joys and frustrations of contemporary urban life. These paintings and others in the exhibition record random moments of daily life that together tell the story of change in the city.

Abramson maintains a studio at Artists & Makers Studios 1 in Rockville where she completed a 3 year Master Artist Program at the Compass Atelier housed in the same studio complex. She has exhibited with Gallery OonH Street (Washington, DC), and International Visions Gallery (Washington, DC). Her work is currently in the Washingtonia Collection of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. This year she was chosen as a judge for the high school art competition for the 8th Congressional District. In 2018 she participated in The Doors of Make Room and was featured in a segment on WUSA9 about low income housing and art. In 2016 she was listed as a Finalist in the Portraits/Figures category of The Artist’s Magazine Annual Art Competition. Her work was featured in two online exhibits, HerStory, (2017, 2018, 2019) an international competition by Manhattan Arts International, and the second by SavvyPainter (2017). She spent most of her career working as Art Director for NOVA Research Company where she designed publications and exhibits for NIH. In 2005, she illustrated Wild Washington: Animal Sculptures A to Z, and in 1997, Simple Secrets of Parenting: Easy as ABC. For a number of years she co-owned Grapevine Graphics, a local graphic design firm. She began her career in graphic design and editorial illustration, working as the art director for The Washington Monthly, a political magazine. She has been exhibiting in solo and juried shows throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region for the past 30 years and has work in many public and private collections.

To see more of Cathy’s work, please visit her website.

3rd Place (Traditional)
Danny Janotta

Danny Janotta’s art is described as “Extreme Coastal”. His paintings capture the light and emotional feeling of Southern California, with color, restrained detail, architectural composition, and perspective. His work has been featured in many magazine articles and he has taught design classes at UCLA and USC. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects and is a prominent designer of major hi-rise buildings, wineries, and residential towers in the USA and Asia.

More of his work may be viewed at www.janottadesign.com.

3rd Place
(Digital & Photography)
Will Nourse

Will Nourse is a landscape photographer known for his ability to capture the drama and beauty of wild places through the use of color and texture.

He has been an avid photographer for almost twenty years, and his work reflects a lifetime of hiking, backpacking, climbing, skiing and sailing, all of which have given him a deep appreciation for the wonders of the natural world.

His work has been featured at the Paula Estey Gallery in Newburyport, MA and the Davis Orton Gallery in Hudson, NY and a series of images were featured in the first print edition of All About Photo Magazine in June, 2018. He has also been selected as a Featured Artist on the websites Light Space & Time, Fusion Art and Artsy Shark. Most recently, his piece, The Morning Mist, was selected as part of the 2019 Emerging Artists Exhibition at the Cambridge Art Association.

He has exhibited and won awards in juried shows at the Cambridge Art Association, the Newburyport Art Association (NAA), the Rockport Art Association, and various galleries across the country and his work has been featured in various print and online publications.

He currently resides with his family in Amesbury, MA where he is planning his next trip to the wilderness.

To see more of Will’s work, please visit his website.

4th Place (Traditional)
Michael Manente

All my work relates directly to light and color, whether it be the gritty urban landscapes or portraits of people and loved ones. I seek at all times the economy of line and the efficiency of color in my pursuit of the impact of light on all surfaces.The scrubbed faces, the well worn sun beaten visages, the brick and mortar facades of ancient buildings whose landlords have long since stopped caring, all of them dance and sing to me with light and color.

The brush stroke is my means of expression. It has carried me through all the neighborhoods all the acquaintances and all the stages of my life. I relate best to everything as a painter.

To see more of Michael’s work, please visit his website.

4th Place
(Digital & Photography)
Diamante Lavendar

I am an award-winning artist who creates art regarding spirituality, nature and the human condition. I enjoy using art as a medium as “food for thought” regarding life, the issues of life and the human reaction to those issues, with a strong emphasis on spirituality. My art is created from a Christian perspective.

I see all forms of art as being expressed offerings from the artists themselves; a way to help understand and empathize with things of an intellectual and spiritual nature in the world around us.

I am also deeply inspired by emotion. I incorporate my belief that everyone and everything are important pieces of life’s beautiful tapestry into my work-that each of our reactions to life and its issues affects not only the world around us but also each other.

To see more of Diamante’s work, please visit her website.

5th Place (Traditional)
Alejandra Gos

Alejandra Gos is an award-winning artist working mainly with pastel and focusing on the landscape. She lives in Bothell, WA with her husband, her german shepherd and cat. She is also a software engineer and has been working on this field since she moved to the US.

She is a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America, the Northwest Pastel Society and the Pastel Society of the West Coast. She is also a member of Plein Air Washington Artists and the Pastel Society of Colorado.

Her pieces sell online and at art galleries in Edmonds and Anacortes. She is excited to continue building relationships with other artists and be part of this wonderful community. She loves the mountains and scenic views in her home state. You can usually find her plein air painting during the summer.

Please visit her website to see more to Alejandra’s work.