Magic

After some careful consideration I am happy to name the work”¡Tachán!” by the illustrator FHNavarro the winner of the ‘Magic’ challenge. I was very impressed with the use of the angled composition that enhanced the mystical/magical atmosphere in this image. The restricted colour pallet works extremely well. Lastly the quirky placement of the white rabbit finished the image of perfectly.
You can see more of Navarro’s work at http://www.cachalotecomix.com/

And The Winner Is... Won Tsuen!

The winner for the "Circus" challenge is:

Won Tsuen!

Congratulations to Won Tsuen. I chose Winnie Won Tsuen Yiu's "Circus" (click the image at the link to see better detail) as the winner for the Circus challenge. Her illustrations are surreal, imaginative, expressive and odd. Wonderful.

The other circus illustrations I love (in particular) were all done by previous winners. Claudio Rodriguez Valdes, Vicente (and again), Joy (incredible poster!), Kyle-Creative, k.h.whitaker, and happy chinchilla!  ...And many other entries that were just incredible!!! A very difficult choice. Keep 'em coming!

And The Winner Is... Joy!

The winner for the "Snow Games" challenge is:

Joy!

Congratulations to Joy. I chose Joy Steuerwald's "Snow Games!" as the winner for the Snow Games challenge. Tough decision as always but Joy's illustration really captured a delightful interpretation of games. Joy is aptly named as her illustrations just shout of joy. She's experimenting with a more retro style, a bit Mary Blair-like... I'd say the experiment is a success! I'm looking forward to more illustrations from Joy. Check out her illustration for Circus!

And The Winner Is... Sorrento!

The winner for the "Caricature" challenge is:

Sorrento!

Congratulations to Sorrento. I chose Sorrento's (Maria R. Vallese) "Caricature!" as the winner for the Caricature challenge. Sorrento was happy with the challenge as, she said, caricatures are her specialty. She's right. You should check out her blog. Her Janis Joplin is spot-on - beautifully colored, perfectly caricatured, instantly recognizable, and darn-right fun! I see Maria R. Vallese going a long way as an illustrator. Great work!

Sometimes I look back on the challenge, examining all of the entries, and I weep. I curl up, sucking my thumb, crying like a baby. You artists are all so good, it's so unfair for anyone to have to judge a winner. A few of my favorites were DoodleDesign - Cheeky Kids and Meet the In-Laws - Vicente - Nicolas Sarkozy (excellent and very professional, with classic ink shading) - Doodlestreet - Michael Jackson - and I always love Barry's amazing art - Beatle Beetle - and, of course, our very own Pascal's wonderful work (and incredible volume!).

And The Winner Is... k.h.whitaker!

The winner for the "Train" challenge is:

k.h.whitaker!

Congratulations to k.h.whitaker. I chose Karen's "Train" as the winner for the Train challenge. Karen's simple but well-rendered illustration shows a toy train with the delicate and curious touch of a child. The shadow of the window blinds adds a quiet atmosphere capturing a wonderful moment. Great work, Karen!

All of the "trains" that all of you artists submitted were fantastic!!! In particular, I also loved Pixzlee's and Joy's entries.

I've written this before but I want to repeat it: The quality of art and the wonderful artists here at Monday Artday constantly amaze me. You are all terrific and inspiring and the reason why this blog is so popular. It's always the hardest thing I do all week to pick a winner. Keep 'em coming, artists!

And The Winner Is... Kinga!

The winner for the "Candy" challenge is:

Kinga!

Congratulations to Kinga. I chose Kinga's "Candy (pistols)" as the winner for the Candy challenge. Great design work, composition, color and technique. A wonderful style that subtly highlights a social commentary making an otherwise cheerful and colorful subject into something dark and dirty. Well done!

This was no easy decision. I am very partial to K.H.Whitaker's translucent candies. I suspect K.H. will get her win soon enough.

And The Winner Is... happy chinchilla!

The winner for the "Insanity" challenge is:

happy chinchilla!

Congratulations to happy chinchilla. I chose happy chinchilla's "Sane/Insane Bunnies" as the winner for the Insanity challenge. A really professional illustration, fantastic style and color, and great illustrative story-telling. I really enjoyed happy chinchilla's blog.

Also of note, two beautifully drawn, awesome but similar takes: Justelle and Clifford.

And The Winner Is... Vicente!

The winner for the "Invisible" challenge is:

Vicente!

Congratulations to Vicente. I chose Vicente's "Now I'm Invisible" as the winner for the Invisible challenge. Vicente has a bold-line, minimalist style and his drawings are well-drafted. This piece illustrates a creative and clever twist on the theme. I loved it.

And The Winner Is... Andrew Finnie!

The winner for the "Mystic" challenge is:

Andrew Finnie!

Congratulations to Andrew Finnie. I chose Andrew's "Mystic (Tattooed Lady)" as the winner for the Mystic challenge. Andrew's beautiful 3D renderings have graced this blog for a while now and he was due for a win. His illustrations show incredible detail, color, lighting and mood. His creativity is his greatest gift, able to tell a whole story with a single image. Andrew's Mystic really captured the theme. Hats off to all the other crystal ball illustrators too! :)

I've written this before but I want to repeat it: The quality of art and the wonderful artists here at Monday Artday constantly amaze me. You are all terrific and inspiring and the reason why this blog is so popular. It's always the hardest thing I do all week to pick a winner. Keep 'em coming, artists!

And The Winner Is... Megan Downing!

The winner for the "Horse" challenge is:

Megan Downing!

Congratulations to Megan Downing. I chose Megan's "Henry The Horse" as the winner for the Horse challenge. There were some pretty amazing horse illustrations but I chose Megan's for its hilarious oddness and focus on the theme. Megan's is a unique cartoon style that's just wonderful to look at - silly and beautifully executed. Just one happy horse in a saddle, cowboy hat and kerchief. Keep 'em coming, Megan!

And The Winner Is... FrankenBarry!

The winner for the "Family" challenge is:

FrankenBarry!

Congratulations to Rich Barry. I chose FrankenBarry's "Green Legs and Ham" as the winner for the Family challenge. Rich's wacky illustrations are always funny and incredibly creative. He has a unique style, crazy madness that fills the entire image. His "family" illustrated the theme well, with his usual twisted twist. Great work as always.

And The Winner Is... Claudio Rodriguez Valdes!

The winner for the "Frog" challenge is:

Claudio Rodriguez Valdes!

Congratulations to Claudio Rodriguez Valdes. I chose Claudio's "Look What I Found!" as the winner for the Frog challenge. Charming and fantastic, like a giant Miyazaki character, Claudio's imaginative painting is funny and joyful.

If there's ever anything that makes me want to run from this blog screaming, it's the arduous task of choosing a winner. The artwork here is always amazing and wonderful. The frog challenge was a knock out! I actually got the opinions of about 100 8th graders for the selection of this winner. They had a hard time too but most of them responded with the greatest delight to Claudio's frog. Biggest standouts for me were Katalin's wonderful frog prince, Andrew's Tim and the Frog, Evie's beautiful watercolor, Josh Billing's Froggy Christmas, Roberta's frog scientist, and the gorgeous design work and colors of Sandra Vargas' Frog! But even those are a tough choice over the rest of the incredible frogs all of the other artists submitted here. Thank you for such amazing work, everyone!

And The Winner Is... Kyle Hollingsworth!

The winner for the "Elves" challenge is:

Kyle-Creative!

Congratulations to Kyle Hollingsworth. I chose Kyle's "Elf-spiration" as the winner for the Elves challenge. Kyle has a magical style, well rendered and meticulously colored. Check out more of her work and her shop!

Fantastic elves, everyone! As always, the hardest thing I do on this blog is choosing a winner. So many of you deserved to win.

And The Winner Is... Lauren Wilson!

The winner for the "Feast" challenge is:

Lauren Wilson!

Congratulations to Lauren Wilson. I chose Lauren's "wolf with rabbits" as the winner for the Feast challenge. Lauren did a great job illustrating the theme. Great watercolor, excellent drawing skills, amazing realization of the environment (not easy illustrating a good hole in the ground). Overall, just a fantastic piece. Well done, Lauren!

I've written this before but I want to repeat it: The quality of art and the wonderful artists here at Monday Artday constantly amaze me. You are all terrific and inspiring and the reason why this blog is so popular. It's always the hardest thing I do all week to pick a winner. Keep 'em coming, artists!

Prize! I said there would be a prize for this challenge. Lauren has won a large Moleskine watercolor sketchbook and a pocket watercolor set. Congrats, Lauren!

And The Winner Is... Justin Segal!

The winner for the "Gratitude" challenge is:

Justin Segal!

Congratulations to Justin Segal. I chose Justin's "finicky cat" as the winner for the Gratitude challenge. Justin's great cartooning style, expression and gesture, made this entry funny and it illustrated well the "gratitude" of a cat. Well done!

And The Winner Is... Lisa Graves!

The winner for the "Chicken" challenge is:

Lisa Graves!

Congratulations to Lisa Graves. I chose Lisa's "Major" as the winner for the Chicken challenge. Lisa's incredible character design, smartly balanced composition, and clean coloring, makes this one super rooster! I love the epaulets.

Amazing work everyone! I am blown away at how you all stepped up to a "chicken" challenge and aced it! From realistic to silly, you are all awesome artists.

And The Winner Is... M. S. Corley!

The winner for the "Werewolf" challenge is:

M. S. Corley!

Congratulations to M. S. Corley. I chose M. S. Corley's "Werewolf" (Lycaon) as the winner for the Werewolf challenge. Why? Because it's AWESOME! M. S. Corley is a fantastic illustrator and designer. I've actually been a fan of his for sometime. Many of you may remember his incredible redesign for A Series of Unfortunate Events, made to look like classic Penguin Books. Check out his blog and enjoy!

And The Winner Is... Master Nil Esquire!

The winner for the "Jack-O-Lantern" challenge is:

Master Nil Esquire!

Congratulations to Nil (Michael Wayne). I chose Nil's "Not so quite right pumpkin..." as the winner for the Jack-O-Lantern challenge. Nil made a great vector vampire last time too. This Jack-O-Lantern he made is creepy-funny-cute, well executed and colored, and could easily be a great cartoon character.

Fantastic Jack-O-Lanterns, everyone! It was a battle of the digital pumpkins - I also enjoyed Andy Bauer's Jack-O-Lantern. And Josh Pincus' "Mr. O'Lantern" delivered the funny.

And The Winner Is... Clifford Shikler!

The winner for the "Vampire" challenge is:

Clifford Shikler!

Congratulations to Clifford Shikler. I chose Clifford's "Among Fire and Ice, Who is Hot and Who is Cold..." as the winner for the Vampire challenge. Clifford shows a great deal of skill and expertise in his art. This painting excels in portraying terror and dread. The frightening details of the face is heightened by the rough and unfinished borders. The blue subject denotes cold death with just enough red to give the feeling of blood.

Again, as always it seems lately, amazingly wonderful entries. Lots of great interpretations. I really enjoyed Josh Pincus' "Count Dracula, the grocery bagger" - fantastic detail, well drawn and colored, and BITINGLY funny! (ouch!)

And The Winner Is... Doodlestreet!

The winner for the "Fire" challenge is:

Doodlestreet!

Congratulations to Pam Jones (Doodlestreet). I chose Doodlestreet's "Fire Bug" as the winner for the Fire challenge. The form and design are perfect and the coloring and shading really invoke the theme. Great work, Pam!

Fantastic entries all! I particularly liked LittleMissMachete's "Fire in the Kitchen!" - expertly done, funny, and incredible as always. There were several others I was blown away by as well - thank you so much for your amazing work, artists! I complain about how hard it is to choose a winner because the artists here are so good - and that's the way it should be.