I would like to congratulate our visual winner TeriLee with her piece Tamed Insight

as well as our written winner JaneAParis with her work HIS BODY, HIS HEART, HIS MIND, AND HIS SOUL…
“Body…
-His body would be my other half”… read more

Thanks to everyone for participating!

TeriLee’s interview:
Another piece from TeriLee: Faith

Name: Teresa Lee
Age: 36
Where are you from originally, and where do you live now? I was Born in Sacramento ,California, USA. I now live in Madras, Oregon, USA
Single? Married? Kids? Married to the man of my dreams with 4 children
How would you describe your style of work or what you are interested in? What inspires you? How do you get started creating? I try not to limit myself to any one particular style, I am inspired by everything in the world around me and sometimes the things that are inside me…most of my images start as a photograph that “needs help”…my forte is not photography, although I try, it just ends up looking like snapshot….I use my photography as a beginning to a “bigger picture”…I envy the people that can take a picture, and instantly have art…
Do you have another career outside of art, and if so, what is that? My husband is disabled and with my 4 children I decided to hold off on working until my kids were older… I have my BS from Oregon State University (that makes me a Beaver ) majored in chemical engineering with a math minor. When my kids are older I plan to go back to work …For now I am going to finish my own education in law school…I want to eventually be a medical malpractice lawyer …my husband says I can win any argument
What’s your favorite food? (or if you want to be more specific, if you had to select a favorite meal comprised of three separate foods, what would they be?) That’s easy…pizza, beer and really loud music…music is food for the soul
How about if you had to do the same with colors and shades (color wheel and black-white)? Emotions? I love colors…reds and blues…as long as they are not flashing in my rear-view mirror:)
favorite sound or noise? worst sound or noise? My favorite sound is ocean waves crashing on the beach…I love silence as well…but with 4 children, if it is silent then something is wrong!
The job you’d least like to have? The job you’d want to have if didn’t have your current one? A police officer…too many laws I wouldn’t be able to arrest somebody for….when I grow up, I wanna be a lawyer.
How does your artwork express the change you’d like to see in the world and the people around you? What do you want people to get out of your work? I hope my artwork portrays a sense of understanding and tolerance, that is what the would needs more of…
As an artist, do you get discouraged, and what is it that discourages you? What is it that brings you back to life? Discouragement is part of the cycle…if I am not creating, then I am learning…. I usually go play with my kids for a while or surf the bubbles…inspiration isn’t usually far away
What is your favorite quote/motto? Whether you have one or not, what would you say if you knew the words would go down in history? “The Golden Rule” of course…Treat others only in ways that you’re willing to be treated in the same exact situation…
What is the worst thing you’ve ever had stolen from you (concrete or abstract)? Oh another easy one…when I was 16 my grandfather bought me a brand new car…and I totaled it 7 weeks later….when he got the insurance check, he bought himself a new truck, and told me I could have that old car in the field…It was a 1968 Opel GT….I overhauled the engine myself and restored everything to a gorgeous looking machine…looked like a mini corvette….then somebody stole it while I was working at a pet store 2 years later, when they found it…it was torched and nothing left…I cried…
What do you feel has been your greatest failure/regret in life? I got my grandfathers tractor stuck in the side the house…that was kinda bad…I also feel bad about breaking my brothers foot when I dropped and ax on him…but my biggest regret is the way I treated my family in my late teens …I was a bit wild…
What moment in your life are you most proud of? 4 times….the birth of my children.
What are you passionate about? My husband is a disabled veteran from the Gulf war… instead of trying to heal him….the doctors almost killed him with their medications ( I do think it was on purpose)… I am very passionate about the use of alternative medication….I make my own tinctures for my husband now…his quality of life is improving, but some days are still very rough.
Pick your favorite of each pair:
a. House or apartment? house, with no neighbors…would love to be completely off the grid
b. Red or blue? Blue…on most days
c. Chinese food or Italian food? Italian
d. Blue eyes or brown eyes? Green…ok….brown if I gotta…blue is good too..
e. Walk or run? I’m a runner
f. Urban or rural? VERY rual
g. Modern or traditional? Yes
h. Glue or tape? I love DUCT TAPE
i. Summer or winter? Summer
j. Jeans or pants? Jeans
k. Love or money? LOVE! Can always make money….can’t even conjure love…

JaneAParis’ interview:
Another piece from JaneAParis: AT DEATH’S DARK DOOR…
“I am standing at death’s dark door…” read more
Name: My artistic painting and pen name is JANE Á PARIS. There is a long story behind my chosen name, but I will save that for another day.
Age: After 39, I won’t let you know unless I have too.
Where are you from originally, and where do you live now? I have lived in many different places, but originally I was made in the United States, and I reside there at present.
Single? Married? Kids? I am divorced, I have two beautiful children. Claire who is 15 and Mitchell who is 12.
How would you describe your style of work or what you are interested in? I have been painting in oils for over ten years. I am primarily an ‘EXPRESSIONISTIC’ painter. I have taken some formal art training but I am ‘for the most part’ a self-taught artist. I do not limit myself to just oil painting; I also paint in watercolor, acrylic, and other mixed media. Art is what keeps me alive…
I also enjoy writing as a form of ‘EXPRESSIONISTIC’ art, in all shapes and sizes…
What inspires you? I am greatly inspired by life experiences. A lot of my painting comes from hardships I have endured, especially political abuse which is like a dark cloud that is always hanging over my head. I am a very emotional creator. Usually my best work is when I am very unhappy, sad, distressed, or just the opposite, when I am very happy, in love, or bubbly. Art is my therapy, and art is my vehicle that allows me to transpose my emotions to the canvas, and then hopefully to the viewer.
How do you get started creating? Usually, I just sit down in front of the canvas and paint how I feel. Sometimes I envision something beforehand, but it always amazes me how emotional and psychological my painting is. It almost always is a very striking reflection of my inner self (mind) and emotions.
Do you have another career outside of art, and if so, what is that? No.
What’s your favorite food? (or if you want to be more specific, if you had to select a favorite meal comprised of three separate foods, what would they be?) Salmon, rice pilaf, and sliced carrots in butter – Merlot to drink and chocolate mousse for dessert. Sorry, I had to add wine and dessert.
How about if you had to do the same with colors and shades (color wheel and black-white)? Emotions? My favorite color has always been black. If I was to choose three colors that I considered my favorites they would be black, green and blue. Although I really have a hard time choosing because I love all colors.
My favorite emotion? My favorite emotion is Love. If I was to choose three emotions I guess they would be love, happiness and whatever emotion is as closely related to the concept of trust as possible.
favorite sound or noise? worst sound or noise? My favorite sound is the sound of my children’s voices. My worst sound would be the sound of the dentist drill.
The job you’d least like to have? The job you’d want to have if didn’t have your current one? What current one? The job I would least like to have would be any job that involved life or death decisions and/or responsibilities. For example, I would not like to be a doctor, I don’t care how much money I made, the responsibility for someone’s life would be more than I would want to bear.
As far as a job I would like to have, well, I would love to be an art teacher for children. I always thought this would be a great job, because I love children and I love art.
How does your artwork express the change you’d like to see in the world and the people around you? For the most part, my artwork is usually an expression of my own personal emotions. I try to paint the pain, happiness or whatever emotion I am feeling at that moment. My wish would be that the viewer gets the conveyance of the emotions I am trying to portray or write about.
What do you want people to get out of your work? An emotional conveyance and pleasure from looking at it or reading it.
As an artist, do you get discouraged, and what is it that discourages you? Yes, sometimes. Mostly because I have physical problems due to illness, and creating, painting and writing take a lot of energy, so sometimes I just don’t have the energy to do what I want to do.
What is it that brings you back to life? Looking at other artists artwork and photography, and reading other artists writing. This is like jumping into a big hodgepodge of creativity, and it always inspires the heart and the mind. Their is nothing like being creatively connected to other people who are creative too.
What is your favorite quote/motto? Whether you have one or not, what would you say if you knew the words would go down in history? It is actually on my profile overview page. My favorite motto used to be ‘If you can’t beat them join them’, now it is’If you can’t beat them, write them and paint them.’
Whether you have one or not, what would you say if you knew the words would go down in history?
Never take on the system.
What is the worst thing you’ve ever had stolen from you (concrete or abstract)? My children.
What do you feel has been your greatest failure/regret in life? I am divorced and my ex-husband has custody of our children. So, of course my greatest regret is always going to be losing that daily interaction with and in the lives of my children.
What moment in your life are you most proud of? I think this is a difficult question, because for me there are many moments. Parenting my children was always full of proud moments. As for me singularly, the last year of my life has been very difficult physically and other ways as well, however I have managed to create over twenty paintings, and around two hundred writings. I am proud of this and I think I should be. My mindset has always been no matter how negative an environment you might be in, or no matter what negative comments people might say, I try to get up everyday and think about what I am going to do that is good and what I am going to create.
What are you passionate about? Art. And just to add on, what I am not passionate about would/wood be politics.
Pick your favorite of each pair:
a. House or apartment? House
b. Red or blue? Blue
c. Chinese food or Italian food? Chinese food
d. Blue eyes or brown eyes? Blue eyes
e. Walk or run? Run
f. Urban or rural? Rural
g. Modern or traditional? Traditional
h. Glue or tape? Tape
i. Summer or winter? Winter
j. Jeans or pants? Jeans
k. Love or money? Love

Yehhhhhhhhh!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

lmao, Congratulations terilee!

Congratulations Jane, I couldn’t have lost to a more deserving poet, lol

It was close ;)

After seeing how wonderful and creative the images from the other finalists were…well…this was truly unexpected…I just wanted to say thank you again….

Good job!

Thanks! Smiles from Jane:-)

great job both of you