Announcing The Winners Of The 2021 Paper Arts Collective International Competition & Exhibition

Color Honorable Mention Winners

By: Les Picker

Dr. Eva Nielson

"The Fence"

Eva has been seriously into photography since 2018, the beginning of a passion for photography, as well as for arts in general. She soon realized that technology was not as important for creating photographic art as is composition, energy and devotion.

Eva takes her Leica Q2 almost everywhere she goes. "Being a photographer has given me access to an expanded awareness", Eva says. "I register so much more than I used to. And an important part of the creative process is the printing, enabling the final piece of art to be exactly the way I want it". 

"The Fence" was taken in Vesterålen, a beautiful mountainous archipelago on the Norwegian northwest coast. In winter the sun disappears completely, leaving a magical faint blue light as the only source of natural light, which Eva used to great effect.

Eva's picture was taken on a windy and snowy March day with little light. "I was driving around and suddenly saw this beautiful fence far out in a field", Eva recounts. "It was cold and difficult to get there but the closer I got, the happier I became. I was attracted by the geometrical form and the simple but strong construction".

Vella Kendall

"Stalking Jaguar"

Vella is a retired nurse who used photography as a way to de-stress from busy night shifts. Basically self-taught, she has always loved animals and discovered that photography was a wonderful way to fulfill that passion. 

"It was a winter morning in the Pantanal," Karen remembers "and it was warm with no clouds in the sky as winter is the dry season. Suddenly we spotted this jaguar walking along a pathway. We were in our boat and I just took many photos. I particularly like this one with the paw slightly bowing out, the claws very apparent". 

Joseph Cagliuso

"Blending Silhouettes"

Joe has been photographing since the early 1970’s. Yet another self-taught artist, Joe's career was in aviation, but photography is his passion.

Since retirement Joe has been photographing and writing articles for Nature Photographer Magazine and has published a coffee table book titled “Symphonies-Poetic Images of Nature”.

"Many times I am amazed at what my eyes are witnessing and the emotional feelings it evokes. I try to observe nature with a fresh vision, studying its patterns, shape and form, but also feeling its ever-changing mood."

Photographing “Blending Silhouettes” Joe intentionally chose to be at its location in the early light of day. "It was the beginning of May in Death Valley, so the oppressive heat in the early morning light was a bit challenging." Joe extracted an area to boost its visual impact and capture the feeling and essence of the place. 

"A splash of light on the sand dunes gave the scene a surreal quality", Joe reports. "I rendered the scene as an abstract study of shape, form and line."

"To be effective as photographic artists, visual design is important. It becomes an integral part of feeling and seeing". 

Karen Jury

"Japanese Maples Dance"

Karen studied graphic design at Carnegie-Mellon University, where photography was one of her favorite classes. "I was always known around my children's schools as the mom with a camera," Karen recalls. She currently works with Photo Encaustics as a way to use her photos is a unique way. 

"For 'Japanese Maple Dance' I was interested in trying a new technique, using a lightbox under the plant. Getting the right composition and detail was the most challenging part of the experiment, but I love how fluid and free the photo became". 

Candice Daum

"Four Play"

Candice is an active member of the Professional Photographers of Canada and holds three accreditations in Animal Sports, Fine Art, and Image Manipulation. Her preferred genre of photography is fast and furry. I’m an animal lover and thrive on the unpredictability of action photography". 

Candice is an admitted Photoshop junkie and is currently training to paint her images with a digital brush, and then adding acrylic paint to the final printed canvas. "There is absolutely something magical about being able to touch and feel an image you created yourself. I’m always looking for new ways to put a twist on traditional photography. And thank you Paper Arts Collective for recognizing and promoting the important of tangible photographic art". 

"Four Play" had all the building blocks in place for making a phenomenal image, according to Candice. "I could not have asked for better conditions. This was my first airshow, so I had freedom to try a completely different type of action photography than I'm used to". 

"There were storms on and off that weekend and the sky turned all shades of blue to white to grey, with beams of sunlight poking through here and there. An absolutely beautiful backdrop for show planes and their pilots strutting their stuff. This image surprisingly has very little editing done. Just a bit of cropping and some global adjustments. This image, along with three others, collectively resulted in me being awarded ‘2018 Photographer of the Year (SK/MB)’, along with a Judges Choice ribbon for ‘Four Play’".

Let these artists know how you feel about their work. All of them were stunning prints.