Reflecting 2025

State: MD
Country: United States

Dimensions: 36 x 24 x 1.5
Media: Oil on canvas
Artist Statement : This self-protrait reflects my desire to comfort my inner child by embracing a cherished childhood toy, a piece of self-soothing and healing. In the painting, I embody the role of both mother and nurturer, represented by the plantain tree, whose freshly cut fruit symbolizes longing and loss. I yearn to love myself fully, to return to my roots, to Puerto Rico, a place where my childhood home, once sheltered under a roof of rusted corrugated zinc, now exists only in memory and fantasy. It frames my dream of finding the love, safety, and shelter I crave. In Puerto Rican schools, when children fail to state their full name, which includes the last name that links to their mother, teachers gently remind them with the saying, “Tú no naciste de una mata de plátano” (You weren’t born of a plantain tree) But here, I reclaim that sentiment: yes, I was born of the tree. I am from here. My mother is the tree. I am the tree.

State: PA
Country: USA

Dimensions: 43 x 56 x 2
Submission Url:
Media: Oil on canvas
Artist Statement : Inspired by thoughts (reflection) on the equality of all living things. I consider all forms of life to share the same value.

State: MD
Country: United States

Dimensions: 33 x 14 x 5
Submission Url:
Media: Found Objects
Artist Statement : A Girl I Used To Know is from my Relationship with Dreams/Opportunities. I am reflecting on how as the opportunities for women have changed so have the dreams of young girls. In my day, young girls dreamt of being like their mom, which involved ironing. The base of this work is a child's ironing board and if you look close you can see a photo of me happily ironing. Young girls today can dream of their future selves as vice-presidents, astronauts, football coaches, etc. I wonder how their dreams have changed.

Third Place
State: MD
Country: United States

Dimensions: 24 x 30 x 3
Media: Mixed media
Artist Statement : Words matter. I've been thinking a lot about words, how numb we've become to the racist, misogynist, hateful words that public figures (and sometimes family and friends) speak, that barely raise an eyebrow anymore. I've been thinking about words of resistance. I marched with thousands of women and men on Nov. 2nd, and was inspired to use my art, and motifs that are pretty to look at, to amplify the messages, both good and bad. The hateful rhetoric has become like a barking dog. We hear it, but just to survive, a lot of us turn a deaf ear and try to ignore it. Unfortunately, that approach has just gotten us where we are. Afraid to speak out, afraid of being "canceled," afraid of what others will think of us. It's too late for that now. We all have to find our voices.

State: NH
Country: USA

Dimensions: 43 x 46 x 0.4
Media: Digital Fiber Techniques- An original image was taken from a moving vehicle, divided into segments and printed by artist. Each segment was quilted, and edge painted and tied together to form a somewhat kinetic presentation. Materials- digitally prepared cottons and linens, pearl cotton and paint.
Artist Statement : Reflections of time spent with family overwhelms me as tears spring to my eyes. Moving fast down the road as the sun creeps up over the hills is a yearly event. Winging to join family in connections, much like the ties that bind this digital fiber memory. I continue to investigate the digital world but also imaginative presentations that add to the pioneering exploration of my media and give my work edge. Each work is unique and created individually.

State: MD
Country: United States

Dimensions: 35 x 21
Submission Url:
Media: Woodcut print on Okawara paper Edition of 25 2023
Artist Statement : "The Last Times On Dogwater Beach" is a chaotic visual odyssey that explores the interpersonal weight of solastalgia, existential distress caused by negative environmental change. This series of handcrafted large-scale prints aims to convey my own solastalgic experiences and the conflicting complicated emotions I feel towards my decomposing interpersonal friendships, the chaotic degradation of my home, and the frighteningly rapid obliteration of our planet and the animals we share it with. Hand-carved into plywood, the matrices of these prints become memorial artifacts, satisfying the raw tangible craftsmanship of relief printmaking and physically preserving every doubt and regret engraved into their surface.his series stands as a bittersweet memorial to the global and interpersonal ecosystems I have inhabited during my adolescent years, and a farewell to the weight of my personal history as I witness the place from which my life began continue to sink from a distance.

Honorable Mention
State: Maryland
Country: United States

Dimensions: 16 x 16
Media: Archival Ink Print

State: Maryland
Country: United States of America

Dimensions: 20 x 15
Media: Archival inkjet print

State: MD
Country: United States

Dimensions: 24 x 20 x 1
Media: digital photography on archival paper
Artist Statement : Having traveled widely, I'm continually struck by the frequency of older people thoughtfully gazing in the past? future? Who really knows?

State: MD
Country: United States

Dimensions: 22.5 x 30 x 2.5
Media: watercolor, ink and pencil on paper
Artist Statement : A deep dive into color, shadow, and light through the language of geometry as part of a series committed to exploring my relationship to the seasons of the year as they influence our emotional lives and spirit of imagination.

State: MD
Country: United States

Dimensions: 30 x 24
Media: Oil on Canvas
Artist Statement : I paint to find my true self- the one buried under years of conditioning that taught me to abandon what was authentic and pure about me. My works are an act of self-empowerment- a reclaiming of a self-respect and self-acceptance that were unconsciously given away at an early age. I am a representational, expressionistic painter with a focus on the figure. I view the subjects I paint as vessels that house emotions and concepts that are important to me. My work is influenced by East Asian philosophies of Taoism, Buddhism, and the concepts of Wabi Sabi (the beauty of imperfection), fragility, impermanence, and emptiness. Once finished, each painting always asks me the same question, “Can you accept this reflection of yourself?” My answer doesn’t matter. What matters is that the question has been asked and explored through the process of painting.

Honorable Mention
State: Georgia
Country: United States

Dimensions: 11 x 8 x 0.5
Media: Graphite drawing.
Artist Statement : The flight from self-reflection leads to mountains to climb. To avoid distress is not to not feel distress, but to lower the register for distress. Shadowwork and introspection are a constant exercise.

State: New York
Country: United States

Dimensions: 16 x 20 x 1
Media: Digital capture, archival pigment print.
Artist Statement : Seen upon entering.

State: Md
Country: USA

Dimensions: 44 x 48
Media: Acrylic on wooden board
Artist Statement : Water allows infinite opportunity for exploring pattern, color and interpretation. Some of my works allow the image to enter more into experimentation, abstraction while some remain more true to a representation of water itself. Still the subject serves as a framework to allow paint the opportunity to carry on its own direction.

Honorable Mention
State: VA
Country: United States

Dimensions: 18 x 22 x 1
Media: archival Photographic pigment print
Artist Statement : Winter is represented by the reflection of the leafless trees while spring is represented by the green of the tufts of grass in the vernal pool.

Second Place
State: VA
Country: United States

Dimensions: 18 x 14 x 0.25
Submission Url:
Media: oil on linen panel.
Artist Statement : Sonata Of Sunset's Last Yellow Rays depicts the sun setting over the water just before it crosses below the horizon. Vibrant colors from the dancing sun and clouds permeate the water. The setting sky is a mixture of rose, yellow, and orange colors inviting the viewer in -- to see, touch, feel, and breath in the ocean and setting sun. The painting is designed to be energetic and commanding, created with vibrant colors, strong brush strokes, and palette knife. Reflecting upon the setting sun, the viewer is invited to linger on the vibrancy and glory of their surroundings.

State: MD
Country: United States

Dimensions: 12 x 24
Submission Url:
Media: Photography
Artist Statement : What can you see while pondering the water on a hot, steamy day? Waiting for the watermen to let you board the water provides many beautiful spectacles. You just need to be paying attention.

State: Maryland
Country: United States

Dimensions: 48 x 24 x 2.5
Submission Url:
Media: Instagram: Susan Tousley Art
Artist Statement : As an artist, my work is deeply influenced by the intricate beauty and wonder of the natural world. Nature, with its ever changing landscapes and delicate details, serves as my primary source of inspiration. The rhythmic patterns of this piece, reflect the calmness from which nature can bring us. This painting brings a feeling of solace and peace, in which we can escape into.

State: IN
Country: United States

Dimensions: 16 x 24
Submission Url:
Media: Photography
Artist Statement : This is one of many antique vehicles that I have photographed over the years. I like photographing them because it gives me a lot of creative license to play with compositions and color. When I photograph these subjects I feel there are no constraints on my creativity and no preconceived expectations of the final image.

State: PA
Country: USA

Dimensions: 23 x 17 x 1
Media: Photographic print. Matted and framed.
Artist Statement : As raindrops collect on the fallen leaves the life of the tree is amplified through the magnification of the veins. A reflection on the life that pulses through us nourished and vibrant.