Saturday, April 11, 2015

2015 Fan Art Contest - THE WINNERS!

Dear Imps, this year's Goldstone Wood Fan Art Contest was such a blast. Seriously! So much talent on display. And more than that, so much class, grace, and sweet encouragement was demonstrated among all the wonderful artists who participated. Such a great group of people, all blessed with such artistic ability! It was a true joy to witness.

Huge thanks to all of those who wrote in to vote as well. The participation and enthusiasm was such fun, and it was even more fun to see all of the artists get at least a few votes for their efforts. But in the end, three images rose above the rest and became this year's winners. And those three images were . . .


THIRD PLACE

DAME IMRALDERA'S LIBRARY
Artist: Hannah Rogers
Medium: Watercolors

 Congratulations, Hannah! This image is a perfectly wonderful depiction of the Haven Library. And how adorable to see a scene from Dame Imraldera's daily life as she labors at her eternal task, only a little distracted by the attention-seeking Bard Eanrin. And Eanrin gazes at the lovely dame with such admiration . . . though she remains apparently oblivious! Your attention to detail is superb, your use of color gorgeous, and the characters look exactly as I would picture them. This is an image I want to frame and put right up on my wall!

You have won one autographed Goldstone Wood novel of your choice! Please email me (aestengl@gmail.com) to let me know which novel you would like and the mailing address to which it should be sent.

And now . . .

SECOND PLACE

UNA AND MONSTER
Artist: Christa Wilson
Medium: Pencil

Congratulations, Christa! This is a peerless depiction of Una in all her youth, sweetness, and naivete, enjoying a cuddle with her not-too-terribly reluctant pet/guardian! Monster looks quite pleased with himself (this is how he DESERVES to be appreciated, after all), and I just adore how perfectly fluffy he is. All the details make this image so lovely--Una's ring, the wildflowers in her hair . . . even Monster's little white muzzle (which looks exactly like my own dear Monster's muzzle with the white "slip" on one side! Don't think I didn't notice). You could not have drawn a more perfect portrait of these two characters.

You have won two autographed Goldstone Wood novels of your choice! Please email me (aestengl@gmail.com) to let me know which novels you would like and the mailing address to which they should be sent.

And finally . . . .

FIRST PLACE
 SUNAN CHALLENGES RISAFETH
Artist: Hannah Williams
Medium: Colored Pencil on Black Paper

Congratulations, Hannah! A well-deserved win indeed! Could there possibly be a more epic, more energized, more terrifying and simultaneously beautiful illustration? I think not! I am as breath-taken by this image now as I was the first time I saw it. Your striking use of high contrast, the out-of-this world perspective created by the driving rain, the roiling action of the water, and the characters . . . all comes together into an image that truly merits that shiny gold medal.

You have won a copy of the newest upcoming Goldstone Wood story, Draven's Light, plus two autographed Goldstone Wood novels of your choice. And let's not forget your very own most excellent Bard Eanrin hat (as designed by Paula Pruden-Macha, a fantastic artist in her own right). Please email me (aestengl@gmail.com) to let me know which novels you would like and the mailing address to which they (and your hat!) should be sent. 

Hold your horses! We're not through yet . . .

Because there were so many fine pieces sent in, I am also taking the liberty of naming the three runners-up for this year's contest.

Runner-Up #1:

 DREAMS OF REALITY
Artist: Courtney D.
Medium: Photomanipulation

Runner-Up #2:
 THE CHRONICLER'S RELUCTANCE
Artist: T. Gemmell
Medium: Watercolour Pencil

Runner-Up #3:
 THE FUNNY PAGES FROM DAME IMRALDERA'S RECORDS
Artist: Heather McDermott
Medium: Digital Art


Congratulations Courtney, T. Gemmell, and Heather! Your art was well-loved and appreciated by all the voters. You email me (aestengl@gmail.com) to claim your runners-up prize . . . a collection of Goldstone Wood bookmarks!

There you have it, dear Imps and readers all. The 2015 Fan Art Contest is at an end. But we'll be back next year with a whole new gallery of work for you to enjoy!

And don't worry: We have more contests coming up for this year as well. Be on the lookout for the official announcement of the 2nd Annual Goldstone Wood Music Contest to be held early this summer. And later this summer we'll be enjoying the 2015 Fan Fiction Contest, which is always a real treat. Let's not forget that 2015 will also be the year of the first ever Goldstone Wood Costume Contest, coming in October. So be thinking ahead for all of those contests. The next winner could be you!

Take a moment to congratulate all of this year's winners. Big thanks again to all of the participants whose beautiful work made this contest such a success.

21 comments:

ghost ryter said...

Congratulations! These pieces all so beautiful and talented! Enjoy your prizes, you deserve them. :D

Karen Reeder said...

These are wonderful! Thy make me want to climb back into your world and stay a while.

Meredith said...

Fantastic job to all the artists! Such phenomenal talent. Thank you all for being so willing to exhibit your gifts. Everyone is a winner in my opinion.

And, Hannah, not only are you a marvelous visual artist but a terrific artist of words as well. The artwork you described for me was wonderfully vivid. Thank you once again. Congratulations to you and the other winners as well.

Am excited about all the events coming up. We emps have such fun! God bless you all.

Hannah said...

Congratulations, Hannah and Christa! All the art was wonderful, and everyone's encouragement was a true blessing. I'm so honored and delighted that so many loved my piece!!!

Shantelle Mary said...

Congrats winners!! Your pieces are just stunning!! Enjoy your prizes! :-)

Blessings!!

Hannah said...

Oh, and Mrs. Macha, THANK YOU so much for the most excellent Eanrin hat! I think you should have a line of them on Etsy or something. :)

Anonymous said...

Congratulations to the three winners!! I LOVE THOSE SO MUCH.

And congratulations to the three runners up! I LOVE THESE SO MUCH TOO! Great job!

Thank you so much for doing this Stengl!! It was so much fun to see all the pictures and draw some myself!

And to all the other artists: You did FANTASTIC! Keep up the amazing artistic work!! You're awesome!

@Hannah Williams: If you're not to shy, you should put up a picture on your blog of you in your Eanrin hat someday. ;)

God bless you all!
-Rebekah L.
(AKA Stargazer)

Therru Ghibli said...

Congratulations everybody! These were amazing pictures! And Hannah, I think we would all love to see a picture of you in the Eanrin hat if that's okay!
This year was so much fun with so much amazing art! I was blown away! Can't wait for next year!
Abby

Tracey Dyck said...

Congrats to the three winners! I love those pieces and am happy to see they were chosen. :D Enjoy your book(s), and in Hannah's case, Eanrin hat. ;)

It was so much fun seeing everybody's artwork this year! Way to go, all!

Jenelle Schmidt said...

Congrats to all the winners. It was so fun to see all the art and admire it! You all are extremely talented artists!

Sarah Pennington said...

Congratulations to the winners! All the fanart was great, but these three certainly deserve their prizes!

Savannah Jezowski said...

What lovely work, everyone! Such talent!

Anonymous said...

Congrats guys! Those were awesome pieces.
-Sarah Grace

Christa Wilson said...

Yay! I'm so excited! :) I had so much fun participating this year, and I absolutely LOVED getting to see everyone else's lovely contributions. Congratulations Hannah and Hannah! Both of your entries were among my favorites. And you can be sure I'm slightly jealous of that snazzy Eanrin hat! ;)

Anonymous said...

Congratulations to all the winners! While I didn't enter, I thoroughly enjoyed gazing at all the fan art, and you all did absolutely fantastic. Now that I've read the first four books in the series, a lot of the art makes so much more sense to me than it did last year when I hadn't yet read any of the Goldstone Wood books.

Blue said...

I wish I had some confetti to toss right now!
Well done, winners!
Also, well done runners up and everyone else who participated.
That was wonderful, and I eagerly await next year

Anonymous said...

Congrats winners and everyone who submitted something! All the art submitted truly was amazing and am so excited about next year's contest!

Unknown said...

Congratulations, winners! Your work is inspiring!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations winners!

Caitlyn

Anonymous said...

Congratulations guys! Amazing art works!
Jemma

Anonymous said...

Congrats to the winners! And to the other runner ups! And to all of the other artists! The talent in this contest was amazing!

- Heather