The end of a year is the time when we at the Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery announce our “Year in Review” recap. This annual feature reviews and promotes the gallery’s top winning artists for the 12 individual monthly art exhibitions and any other special online art exhibitions the gallery conducted, which in 2020 included the gallery’s “10th Anniversary” and “Created in Isolation” art exhibitions.

2020 was a unique year for us. In addition to celebrating our 10th  Anniversary, like everyone else around the world, we have had to contend with the global pandemic that has affected all of us. It has been hard for artists and non-artists alike and we hope these darks days will soon turn around. In the interim, we want to once again commemorate the passing of another year by taking another opportunity to promote the gallery’s top winning artists.

In 2020, the gallery received more than 13,117+ entries for our art competitions and the following artist’s and their art are what we consider to be the best entries from our online themed exhibitions. 

The gallery received a broad array of media and artistic styles throughout the year.  We tried to showcase the various media received in our art exhibitions and we hope that you will take some time to view the various exhibitions that we have posted in our Gallery Archives.

Please enjoy reading about these extremely talented artists.

“All Women” – January 2020 – Cheryl Magellen – “Flying Geckos”

Ms. Magellen works primarily in oil and specializes in portraiture and figurative subject matter. Her work is impressionistic realism with loose, painterly brushwork. She prefers subjects of unusual character, as well as costumed figures and subjects in the performing arts and other creative fields. Her major painting influences comes from such artists as Daniel Sprick, Huihan Lui, and Gabriel Mark Lipper.

In addition to her figurative work, Ms. Magellen also does experimental work in acrylic and mixed media in subjects ranging from representational to abstract. Ms. Magellen has a BA in Fine Art and studied at the Southern Oregon Art Academy and the Scottsdale Artists' School. Her work has been accepted into an American Women Artists Museum exhibition and both Oil Painters of America National and Regional exhibitions and took a second place award in their Online Showcase. She is the founder of the Selfie Show and the Magellen Fine Art Youth Academy. She currently teaches and resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Cheryl’s website is http://www.cmagellen.com/.

“CityScapes – February 2020 – Jeffrey Friedkin - “Downtown”

Jeffrey Friedkin is a fine art and street photographer, specializing in capturing the energy, vibrancy and isolation of New York City. Jeffrey is a juried photography member of the prestigious Salmagundi Art Club in NYC. He is the Chairman of the Public Relations Committee and serves on the Salmagundi Board and Photography Committee.

A multiple award-winning photographer, Jeffrey has widely exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the tri-state area in addition to a large international online presence. His work has been featured on various news sites and is held in private collections and clubs. A series of his photographs have recently been acquired by the Yuko Nii permanent collection at the Williamsburg Art and Historical Center in Brooklyn, NY.

Jeffrey Friedkin’s photography employs a synthesis of the artistic eye and technology. His work focuses on New York life: the streets, people, architecture and nature. The lush rural landscapes and sparkling seascapes of the Hudson River Valley region equally inspire him. His images tell these stories.

Jeffrey’s website is www.jeffreyfriedkin.com

“Abstracts” – March 2020 – Richard Mittelstadt - “Mysterious”

Having taught high school art with a Masters degree for 38 years, Rick has an extensive background in art history, materials, concepts, and processes. While working on his college degrees in art education and studio art, he focused on drawing, printmaking, and jewelry making. While teaching high school art education, he concentrated on landscape watercolor painting. After retiring, he turned his attention to acrylic painting.

Rick thinks of his artwork as a theatrical production in which the viewer is allowed to temporarily suspend disbelief. For the viewer, his artwork becomes a momentary distraction—a gift of enchantment, amusement and emotional connection.

Rick has been honored with several one-person exhibitions in galleries and public venues as well as numerous awards in juried exhibitions for his acrylic paintings in the past several years.

Richard’s website is www.mittelstadtartworks.com.

 “Figurative” – April 2020 – Dan Pyle – “In the Spot Light”

Dan was born in Montana, grew up in Washington State, and now lives in California. With virtually no formal art training, Dan has been drawing since childhood. His internationally award-winning charcoal drawings has been exhibited in gallery shows in Palm Springs, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Santa Ana, Pasadena, Long Beach, New York, Provincetown and West Hollywood. Dan is also now represented in Europe and travels there yearly for live shows. With his client base extending as far away as Malaysia and Australia his work is becoming known worldwide.

Dan’s work is permanently installed in the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas, as part of their impressive commercial art collection and he participated in the epic Art Takes Times Square event in New York City. His drawings have also been published in numerous art magazines & books, both domestically and internationally.

Working exclusively in charcoal, Dan uses a realistic style that mimics photography to the point that his drawings are often mistaken for photos. He loves shadows, contrast, anonymity and using negative space in his compositions. Dan’s gifted eye catches timeless fragments of life in his work---whether it’s the intricate lines of the human hand, the delicate folds of a garment, or a tarnished piece of silver, they are drawn in detailed simplicity.

Dan’s work celebrates his relentless enthusiasm for detail, through a vast collection of subject matter. From muscular figures, to distressed objects from the past, he continues to challenge perfection.

Dan’s website is www.danpyleartist.com

“Botanicals” – May 2020 – Stephen Mimms - “Beacon”

Biography: Stephen Mimms resides in Silver Spring, Maryland with his wife and two dogs. Stephen's photographic skills are self-taught through decades of patience and practice. Stephen is energized in exploring images of what he sees around him. Stephen's images are designed to inspire and create art.

Artist Statement: I have enjoyed photography with a passion; it has the ability to exploit what I see. I began with film photography as a hobby for many years, learning traditional film development through self-study, books, magazines and practice. Upon retiring as a computer system project manager, I discovered digital photography and Adobe

Photoshop and my passion for photography has continued to develop. The goal for each and every one of my photos is to make you stop, look and be moved to think. I want to create images that not only have a story to tell but have depth and feeling and serve as reminders of the breadth of all of our emotions and senses.

Stephen’s website is www.mimmsphotography.com.

“Created in Isolation” – May 15 – July 15, 2020 – Heather Olsen - “Getting Ready to go into Battle”

I am an oil painter based in Salt Lake City, UT and have been exhibiting artwork nationwide since 2015. I began painting and drawing at a very young age, and studied with various professional artists at both the Bridge Academy and Hein Academy before completing my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the University of Utah in 2015. I paint whatever comes to my mind. Oftentimes it is things that I am passionate about such as animals and human emotions. Other times it could be a dream I had, something going on in the world, or an idea inspired by an experience. My work is rooted in realism due to my classical training, but has a sense of emotional expression with quick brushstrokes and heavy application of paint.

Heather’s website is www.heatherolsenart.com

“SeaScapes” – June 2020 – Ronald Santini - “Morning Reflections”

For me photography is a form of personal expression that evokes a sense of joy, discussion, a lasting impression, or discovery for those who view my work. I started my photography journey during my time in the US Military. While stationed in Spain I purchased by first camera. My focused interest in photography started to blossom in the early 1980’s and took off with the introduction of digital photography.

My photography has won numerous awards from local photography contests to international juried events. I am a member of numerous photography organizations including the North American Nature Photographers Association (NANPA), and the Carolinas Nature Photographers Association (CNPA).

Ronald’s website is www.ronald-santini.pixels.com 

“Primary Colors” – July 2020 – Michelle Woitzel - “Primary Haze”

I enjoy combining my photography skills, education in graphics, and love of painting to create mixed-media digital works of art. Using all three disciplines enables me to diversify my style. My first love will always be abstracts. I create these with more of a feeling rather than starting with a vision of the end result. As I get older, I find myself leaning toward more of a modern style of work. The less complicated feel and composition appeals to my "less is more" aesthetic. I am an optimist and generally positive person. I focus on creating art that is colorful, has movement, light and uplifting. There's enough darkness in the world, I choose "HAPPY"!

Michelle’s website is www.woitzelphotography.com

“10th Anniversary” – July 25 – October 2, 2020 – Sarah Simmonds - “Camel Driver”

I am a self-taught Artist working in pencil, charcoal, pastel, watercolour, oils and occasionally acrylic. I was always happiest drawing as a child and won a Pavement art competition at the age of 7. Unfortunately my skills and love of art were not recognized at school ,where I would get severely reprimanded for handing in homework which I could not possibly have done myself? Instead, I studied Veterinary Medicine at Cambridge University, and have been fully devoted and committed to my rewarding veterinary career. This is sad, as I would rather have devoted my life to my Art, however financially unrewarding that might have been. I am never happier than when I am painting, and I am now making up for lost time, concentrating solely on my art.

I have a lifetime of Art to create and lessons to be learnt, to cram into a third of a lifetime. Where there's a will and passion there's a way! I have backpacked extensively to remote places and my photography of the beautiful people that I had the good-fortune to encounter was probably my main inspiration to start portrait painting.

Obviously, my love of animals (especially horses) inspired me too. Eyes are the windows to the soul ...but horses’ eyes also connect to your own soul. Something takes over when I get absorbed in my painting and "it" manages to capture an exact likeness, which is a huge thrill for me. However, my overarching desire is for every piece of my artwork to be 'beautiful' in its own right. My art has won many major awards, been exhibited in London, and published.

I am on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarah.simmonds.775 and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artofsarahsimmonds/. 

Sarah can be reached via her email.

“Animals” – August 2020 – Marion Tubiana - “Atacama”

Born in 1990, Marion Tubiana manifests from the age of 3 a marked taste for drawing and graphic arts, as well as for animals to which she dedicates a real passion. She started horseback riding when she was 5 years old and hasn’t stopped since, starting competition in her teenage years. She possesses permanently about ten animals, cats, dogs, horses.

Self-taught, she works at the feeling and without technical. To give a soul and an emotion to her paintings is before all that she look for. She paints with her heart, she puts what she feels and beyond the realism that emerges from her paintings, she try to have this something that will make it more than a photo. The work of looks and dramatic light fascinates her. The eyes reflect the soul and cannot lie and it is the light that allows her to give dimension and strength.

She works with oil and pastel, two completely different mediums that give her each a lot of pleasure. The painting is made on canvas mounted on a frame; the pastel is made on Pastelmat paper. The painting will bring strength, the pastel a little more velvety and sweetness. Whether with her pencils or her brushes, she works in communion with them, hair by hair, so that the details and the realism are crying of truth and that her paintings can deliver their messages, their emotions.

Her paintings are all created from photographs. For her creations, she first selects them for what they make her feel, the expression, the look, then she imagines how she would like to highlight them, the framing, the light that she wants there put. This research sometimes takes her hours and is an integral part of the final work.

Marion’s website is www.mariontubiana.com

“Patterns” – September 2020 – Stan Johnson - “Gym Rats”

After moving to Arizona in 1989, Stan co-founded Recent Developments, LLC with his partner Cheryl Hrudka. Recent Developments is a fine art photographic concern specializing in landscapes and architecture for corporate and hospital environments. Although the company continues along this path, the partners took a new direction shortly after 2007. Both began to explore the virtually unlimited non-representational possibilities offered by a variety of digital software.

Stan is a structural expressionist. At first, the two concepts seem ill suited. This awkward synthesis creates a dynamic tension in his work. By alternating structure (expression) in the figure and expression (structure) in the ground, the forces at play can be reconciled.

Stan is represented by Gloria Delson Contemporary Arts Gallery in Los Angeles, and by Art Design Consultants Gallery in Cincinnati, OH. His work may be seen in private collections and throughout the US and Canada.

Stan’s website is www.analteredview.com    

“Landscapes” – October 2020 – Barbara Mierau-Klein - “Hunts Mesa”

Barbara Mierau-Klein is a digital artist recognized for her multi-layered, imaginative and colorful fine art images. A native of Germany, Barbara lives in the Washington, D.C. area but often travels the world as a passionate landscape and nature photographer since her teenage years.

Much of Barbara’s work is highly stylized and focuses on beautiful moments and evocative moods across a wide range of subjects. The inspiration for her images comes from many sources, often her own nature photography, but also books, song lyrics, movies, and works of other artists, old masters as well as contemporary digital artists.

Barbara’s work has been exhibited in a number of galleries in the US and Europe and has received numerous awards. Her images also appear regularly in international art magazines. Barbara is represented locally by Waverly Street Gallery in Bethesda, MD.

Barbara’s website is www.barbaramierauklein.com

“Open (No Theme)” – November 2020 – August Naude - “What We've Lost”

After retirement from a successful career in the ICT world in Pretoria, South Africa, August quickly discovered his immense passion for artistic photography, digital art and low key & grunge photography. Therefore, it was no surprise when he joined the various training programmes of the “father of digital art”, the famous Sebastian Michaels based in Asheville (USA) who has influenced the artwork of August to a large extent. August also graduated at the New York Institute of Photography with distinction, specializing in Intense Portrait Photography.

August almost got molded in a record time, becoming a master in low-key studio work, grunge photo art as well as full blast digital art and artistic photography. He was selected as one of Photoshop Artistry’s international top digital artists, which is called “Kaizen”, and this group produce the most magical works of art. His work has been published in over 50 international publications all over the globe. He was featured artist in a number of publications, like edition 50 of the famous magazine, Living The Photo Artistic Life.

During his artistic journey, August participated (and is still participating) in various group exhibitions and he has received numerous honorary mentions and international prizes for his work. He was invited by Eikon Culture Visual Reflections, being the only South African between artists of over 70 countries to participate in three international exhibitions in Italy. During 2017 to 2020, August has been exhibiting at the Heaven Art Gallery, which was based in Arizona as well as the Orenda Gallery, which was in Nevada. August is consistently exhibiting at the Blank Wall Gallery, in Athens, the annual Chania International Photo Festival in Greece, the More Art Please gallery in Romania as well as various online exhibitions like Fusion Art Gallery. His work is on display and is accessible internationally. August’s exhibition at Fusion Art during August 2018 walked away with Best in Show in the 3rd Artist's Choice International Juried Art Exhibition and his exhibition at Light Space & Time in 2019, resulted in first place in the Figurative Art Exhibition (Photography & Digital category).

Photography and the creation of art is not a job for August. It is rather living an artistic life, which he is extremely passionate about.

August’s website is www.augustnaudephotography.com

“Nature” – December 2020 – Ezra Larsen - “Aphrodisiac”

Ezra was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada. His parents were both artistic and encouraged him to pursue his own creative nature. During secondary school, he took a more serious approach to his craft and began classical drawing classes with Anyuta Gusakova. Soon anatomical studies followed, and Ezra found a new love of art through sculpture and the human body.

After graduating secondary school, he sought a profession in video game art and attended the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts, but decided to postpone a digital art career for later in life. After earning a diploma and doing some freelance art, Ezra found himself looking for a new medium to attract his attention. Ezra fell into what he calls his "Romantic Period". He began oil painting at Dene Croft’s studio in 2015 and hasn't put the brush down since.

After moving to England in pursuit of adventure, Ezra returned to Vancouver in 2018 and earned a Welding certification at BCIT. He is now involved with several creative art projects, including public metal art working with Ron Simmer, metal fabrication and an original comic book. He has also returned to Dene Croft studio as a drawing and sculpture instructor, in addition to making community outreach presentations in local high school classes.

Looking towards the future, he hopes to create art projects to raise awareness about climate change and the dire state the world is in, integrating his love of art, his new welding skills and his desire to create positive change.

Ezra’s website is www.ezralarsen.ca

Congratulations to our Top Winning Artists for 2020 - Your Works are Magical and Stunning! Thank you.

2020 Year in Review – Our Top Winning Artists