Opus 2023 Winners

Best in show

Mike Knapp

Exploring how technology has taken the front seat in our lives by using toy robots as the metaphor. ​

Artist Statement There is beauty everywhere…if you look for it. Many of the everyday things and concepts we pass by in our busy lives go unobserved. I see my job as an artist to bring them to the forefront, to make us see what we have previously missed. To appreciate the unappreciated. To think. It is true that a painting should be visually striking. Either beautiful or repulsive, a painting needs to gather the viewer’s attention first before it can deliver its message. And I feel that art in general, should have a message to impart or a story to tell. I paint to make a social or visual statement. I like to challenge the idea that art is just something pretty to look at. Why can’t it be pretty and also say something? Of course, it can.

michaelknappartist.com

@michaelknappartist

Storytelling award

My art is a collection of paintings and mixed-media saturated in vibrant colors to spark livelihood, gratitude and thought provoking self-discovery.

Instagram: @theartistjones

FB: Artist Jones Creates

Technical Award

I’m a retired Army veteran. I entered the Army as a Private First Class in 1983 and retired as a Brigadier General in 2018. A primarily self-taught artist I work in scratchboard, which is considered one of the most difficult art mediums. My work has appeared in art shows in Virginia, California, New York, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Florida. I was selected as 1 of the 15 Emerging Artists for the 2022 Gasparilla Festival of the Arts. My earlier work that focused on humanitarian subjects was influenced by my experiences in the Army. I worked closely with civilians and foreign government staff in various conflict zones or humanitarian crises. I saw the impacts of war on a very personal level through these people. If you do not feel some level of emotion in my work then I have failed as an artist. I use scratchboard as a fine art vehicle to evoke the full range of emotions in viewers. Much of my work captures the impacts of famine, genocide, war, and human rights. Several of my pieces depict the most respected humanitarians and former leaders in the world. My artwork of icons in music, literature, movies, and sports brings smiles and happy memories to people. In sum, I want people to remember how they felt when they viewed my artwork. Modern-day scratchboard art originated in 19th century Europe as a method to illustrate books due to its high quality in reproduction. The working surface is a three-layer medium made up of a 1/8″ masonite panel as a support. The support is covered with smooth white clay followed by a thin layer of black India ink, leaving a solid black panel to start with. I use mainly a scalpel to scratch through the black ink to reveal the white clay below. The hundreds of scratched dots, lines, and dimples form patterns and textures that result in the image of the artwork. It’s impossible to erase any errors. Usually this means starting the work over. I’ll spend hundreds of hours on complex pieces. A lot of my work is so realistic it is often mistaken as a photograph.

Facebook : RichSeleFineArt

People’s Choice

Markanthony R. Little, also known as “MA,” is a renowned contemporary artist based in Florida, known for his multidisciplinary approach that combines photography, painting, printing, drawing, and collage techniques. With a powerful use of colors, unique brushwork, and multi-layered techniques, MA’s thought-provoking art creates genuine emotional content that captivates collectors worldwide.

Insta- markanthony_art

FB- MA Art I Go By MA Art