CHER PRUYS

The winner of the Biafarin/SCA Award of Excellence at the 2022 Elected Members Show. October 2021 Winner of The Exclusive Harmony of The Arts Contest by The Blue Blood Gallery in Prague. The Gold Medal recipient for Figurative Painting in The Mondial Art Academia's International 2018 Competition. The Silver Medal for Portrait Painting in The 2020 International Art Professional World Art Academia Competition. The Aviation Week & Space Technology Award Best of the Best, and the ASAA Award of Distinction for the best painting in the ASAA International Space & Technology Exhibit & Competition, consecutively for two years. In 2020 & 2021, she was awarded the most wins in The American Art International Awards. The Grand Prize Winner in The AWA (American Women Artists) 2022 Spring Online Show with a perfect score for "In Retrospect." 2nd place in the AAPL elected Members online show 2022, and 3rd place in the NOAPS Spring Online Artist Members Show. She has had 15 solo exhibits. Cher is also an avid fused glass artist and a certified piano and guitar teacher. Her painting "The Bubble" had the honor of being part of the Masterworks from The International Guild of Realism Tour.

Cher Pruys was born in Regina. Over the years, she lived in many places, including Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, and Fort Frances. She settled into her present home in Devlin, on the banks of the Rainy River, with her husband Mark, four dogs, and two cats.

By age three, Cher was seldom found without a drawing tool. She worked in pencil, charcoal, and ink over the years until she picked up a paintbrush at age 35. Beginning with oil paints, she found her chosen mediums in acrylic, watercolor, and gouache.

Although self-taught, her dedication and talent has seen her work juried into 242 International exhibits, as well as exhibits in numerous non juried shows. She has won 285 awards for her work in the International Juried Exhibits. She has won 266 awards for her work in International Juried Exhibits. These awards include the first recipient of a significant Canadian National Award, The Mary Pratt Crystal Award of Excellence at the 2014 SCA Open Juried Exhibition, and The SCA 1st place award of distinction twice, respectively, in 2016 and 2017 at Canada's 150 show. The SCA 2nd place Award of Distinction in the 2021 Elected Members Show.

Her work has graced the covers of 3 books and 32 magazines, including The Best Of Acrylic Fall 2021, the cover of May Arabella Magazine with "In Retrospect," the latest being the cover of #20 Hyperrealism Magazine with "Girls Girls, Girls" and has been featured in over 176 international publications. Cher's works have found a permanent home in private and public collections worldwide.

“As an artist, I often find myself excited about the new piece I am working on, but I have a connection to several of my paintings for various reasons. "Awesome Sloan" is a piece that brings me back to a time many years ago when as a little girl, I felt I could conquer the world. "The Sapient" is a piece that celebrates aging and the wisdom it can bring with it. "Innocence" speaks to me of the pure, clean, unbiased outlook of childhood before the journey through life puts its hooks into us and takes the magic away...painting makes it possible for me to recapture that magic and to express my innermost feelings in a nonverbal way. It is my lifeline, my motivation, and my reason for being.”

The paintings of French artist Caroline Degroiselle offer color-filled imaginative landscapes inspired by the mystic island she grew up on New Caledonia. Working with bright, vibrant palettes and a variety of textures ranging from simple washes to crusty impastos, Degroiselle creates dynamic compositions that are atmospheric by nature, where the viewer can almost step into the work and experience all the sights, sounds, smells, and other physical elements the painting has to offer. In addition, the artist’s masterful ability to capture and convey the brilliance of the island light brings an entirely new energy to the work so that one almost feels that the painting has come alive.

As a self-taught artist, Degroiselle makes it a practice to paint from her heart, which she believes gives her work its unique energy. But always, for Degroiselle, It comes back to her beloved island: the place that transformed her into an artist and where she finds her greatest inspiration.

As she explains so eloquently: “Most of all, the incredible, unbelievable, and everchanging Caledonian light and this fusion with the sea and the lagoon offer me a unique offer me a unique gift and an eternal Inspiration.”

“Elevation”

Christophe Szpajdel is an internationally renowned logo designer who started in the late 80s.

Christophe's work first came to attention in the mid-'90s with logos like Emperor, Old Man's Child, Enthroned, Borknagar, Moonspell, Desaster & many more.

Since then, he has made a significant contribution to the extreme metal scene, having drawn thousands of bands, with the vast majority still being used to this day, in some cases 30 years since their creation.

In 2010 Christophe released a book called "Lord of the Logos," followed by various exhibitions worldwide, including in the USA, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Greece, Italy, Denmark, Germany, Romania, France Poland, Portugal, Belgium, and The Netherlands...

In 2016, Christophe completed some logos for significant figures in the music industry — Rihanna & Metallica.

This rendition of the Rihanna logo for the Anti World Tour/VMA is something the general public has come to associate with Death Metal logos mainly because it has been frequently seen on mainstream TV channels like MTV, for example, which attracted new prospects in his clientele. Read more about this collaboration in Mark Riddick's interview with Bandcamp here.

He also completed other logos like Wolves in the throne room, Abigail Williams, and a logo for a thriller called Mandy, featuring Nick Cage and produced by Panos Cosmatos.

Christophe Szpajdel is participating in the Devon open studios, and this year, he is delighted to invite you to his show during September at the Flavel in Dartmouth. The lineup will consist of 5 artists.

Christophe Szpajdel is in talks with a museum in Düsseldorf to participate in a themed exhibition called Death and the Devil.