TITLE: BROKEN DREAMS MEDIA: GRAPHITE, CHARCOAL AND COLORED PENCIL ON PAPER SIZE: 21.0 x 29.7cm This work was inspired by the Economic situation that my country Zimbabwe was going through. The torn map of Zimbabwe symbolyses the economic and political situation, as the future seems uncertain due to the instability in the sectors. The ostrich represents Zimbweans. Ostriches are known for burying their heads in the sand, and that's the similar case with most Zimbabweans. they try to hide away from the country, and thus hiding their identity in the process. Ostriches are also the biggest birds, and have the longest necks in the bird kingdom, and the largest eyes of any land animal, thus, the same Zimbabweans should also use their strengths to focus on building the country, and the future. the small hand holding the flag, is a reminder for Zimbabweans to stand tall and raise the Zimbabwean status higher and beleive in themselves.

Name:Monik Robichaud

Bio:I was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick as an election baby, the 4th and last attempt at a daughter to newly elected Liberal Premier Louis J Robichaud. We are French Acadians and we have been in Canada almost 600 years. I worked all my life for others =work/family/friends and not necessarily always in that order to pay the bills, because that wave in life is eternal. I’ve now realized that money comes and money goes. It is a tool to give me a reasonable existence. Painting wakes me up, and now I am devoted to her/him/it. I could bore you with art/education/advertising/printing but I feel myself in what I make. I hope it pleases you for a glance or two. That’s an honour in this fast fast world to get a few seconds of your time. Thank you I use Acrylic on either loose cloth canvas or a stretched canvas. My smallest sizes are 10×15?. MonikR

Story:I love colour. I love happiness in art. I rarely do sad paintings unless it is for a cause I wish to bring attention to. So if you're looking for a smile when you look at a painting, then my artwork may be of interest to you. Also, it seems I don't fit anywhere in the painting sphere, and that's ok with me.

Name:Ruby Allan

Bio:Ruby Allan currently lives in Fredericton NB a province in which she has spent most of her time procuring her love of fine art and finessing her craft. This artist is mostly self-taught and expresses her art in a number of mediums but more recently has explored working with coloured pencils. After being chosen to attend the Kingsbrae International Residence for the Arts in St.Andrews NB for one month in 2017 and selected for her second Art Residency for a three week period in Sherbrooke Village, N.S. she has honed her skills and has committed to coloured pencils as her primary medium. The more she realizes all that can be achieved with this back to basic artistic tool.

Story:I have been painting for about 20 years and I can attest that during this time there were definitely ups and downs in my creative world. I started with acrylics then moved on to oils and was hooked. Thinking back I remember purchasing numerous tubes of paint, every brush that promised me better results and the list goes on. Then about 4 years ago I came to the conclusion I was tired mixing paint and not getting the detail in my work I wished to achieve. I am a firm believer that when you hit a wall it's time to change it up and so coloured pencils became my new medium. I did a lot of research on line and purchased several books to help me learn everything I could about this wonderful medium. They are easy to transport, excellent for detail work, and no mixing colours on a palette. This new medium gave me back the excitement I needed and I was finding inspiration in places where I had never looked before. I have completed many coloured pencil paintings since then but for this contest I chose "Reflections of Rome". This was done with coloured pencils on Uart Sandpaper . This particular piece not only brings back fond memories of my visit there but it makes me smile because I never thought I would ever go up to a stranger and ask if I could take their photograph . Inspiration works in the strangest ways! I was so inspired by the reflections in her sunglasses of the buildings across the street and the perfect lighting. I couldn't wait to get home to complete my rendition of how I saw Rome through someone else's eyes... I have purchased the Caran D'ache Pablo set of 30 which are of finest quality. I can only imagine what I could achieve with the New Caran D'ache water soluble set.!! Thank you for this opportunity.

Name:Pinky Pamila Christy

Bio:Hi.. I'm pinky pamila. First of all I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to express my interest in art. Painting is my hobby and I love painting. I usually paint when I feel very stressed about my life and it gives me relaxation.

Story:The Art which I have attached is all about the mother's love for her child. In our world, mother is the only person who can love her child unconditionally. Nobody else can be replaced instead of her. I bet that a father can not do the part which mother does for her child. A mother play a important role because she gives birth and cares for her family until she dies. Here, in this art we can see that a mother is left out of the house with a child in her hand and she thinks about the future of her child. This art speaks much about how women faces the world all alone by herself and she needs to groom her child as well, even when she was left out by her husband. So, I would like to dedicate this art to everyone who came up inspite of all kinds of difficulties and I hope the secret behind it must be a beautiful woman that is your mother. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the mothers a happy mother's day.

Name:sanjay Dangi

Bio:i am a fine art student of nepal.

Story:i love drawing portraits in any medium .this is a commission work which i did in 2018

Name:ALBERT MUBATSA

Bio:i am a 23 year old, self taught hyperrealist. Art was always a hobby from a young age, but it wasn't until October 2016, when i decided to be serious with art. through youtube videos and other artists' instagram posts, i managed to improve myself and grow into the hyperrealist i am today. i never received any formal training whatsoever. i'm currently studying Electrical Engineering at the University Of Zimbabwe. It so happened that the time i started Engineering, was the time I also started working on Art seriously.

Story:TITLE: BROKEN DREAMS MEDIA: GRAPHITE, CHARCOAL AND COLORED PENCIL ON PAPER SIZE: 21.0 x 29.7cm This work was inspired by the Economic situation that my country Zimbabwe was going through. The torn map of Zimbabwe symbolyses the economic and political situation, as the future seems uncertain due to the instability in the sectors. The ostrich represents Zimbweans. Ostriches are known for burying their heads in the sand, and that's the similar case with most Zimbabweans. they try to hide away from the country, and thus hiding their identity in the process. Ostriches are also the biggest birds, and have the longest necks in the bird kingdom, and the largest eyes of any land animal, thus, the same Zimbabweans should also use their strengths to focus on building the country, and the future. the small hand holding the flag, is a reminder for Zimbabweans to stand tall and raise the Zimbabwean status higher and beleive in themselves.

Name:Wendy Lu

Bio:Wendy Lu is a Hard of Hearing, Taiwan-born, Toronto-based multimedia artist, who graduated with Specialized Honours from York University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Arts. Wendy lost her hearing as an infant due to meningitis-related fever, and throughout her life, she has undergone left-brain surgery, as well as three cochlear implant surgeries. Her severe-to-profound bilateral hearing loss affects both ears, and her cochlear implant technology affects her hearing and speech. Her visualizations attempt to depict analogues of perceptual difference involving drop-outs, disconnects and scrambling artifacts, based on her lived experience aurally negotiating and interpolating in communications with others.

Story:This is my coloured pencil drawing about the transformation of natural landscapes. I am inspired by this fast-changing world of global issues.

Name:Hailey O'Leary

Bio:Hello my name is Hailey Oleary I was born in Kentville Nova Scotia and I have lived in nova Scotia all of my life. I am married to my husband Derrick and we have a beautiful 2 year old daughter named Kaitlyn. We have 3 dogs 2 chihuahuas named diesel and dexter and a Springer spaniel named Abby. I work full time but I am also an Artist who loves doing pet portraits and other various subjects. I also love antiques, animals, crystals, essential oils, making jam and baking ! .

Story:The piece I'm about to show you is what started my love for pastel, it's not my newest or maybe not even my best but I feel this picture has the best story because it was the start to something great. I did this back in 1999 it was my first pastel drawing My parents bought me my first set, and dad used to bring me home cardstock paper, and It's one of the only pieces that I've ever kept and hung on my wall. Art has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. As a small child I dreamed it would someday be my real Job. Even though I was led to believe it never would be. For many years I de-valued myself and de-valued my talent, I burnt myself out that way, I had myself believing I had a useless talent I even called it that for years! It wasn't until i met my husband and with a few close friends that I realized this wasn't true! So I had to let go and had to start believing in what these other people were telling me. For a few years I would draw at Christmas time, then 2 years ago I truly got inspired ... I was pregnant expecting my first child and bummed about working a meaningless night job I decided drawing 2 months out of the year wasn't enough to fulfill my passion! I was driven to do it full time and I am ! I haven't been able to quit my night job yet but Rome wasn't built in a day ???? .

Name:Rosemary Bennett

Bio:Originally from Victoria, British Columbia, I have resided in Southern Alberta since the 1970's. An avid interest in the landscape of Western Canada and the people, animals, and flowers that inhabit this landscape is expressed in my work. I love colour and vibrancy and use many mediums to express my work. I am also a stained glass artisan. I have recently been exploring the use of coloured pencils. I have traveled to Italy and France to paint and done two solo shows. I continue to be very active in the arts scene in Calgary.

Story:The inspiration for the Chucks comes from my love of horses. I originally did this piece in the 1980’s with old Canadiana Pencil Crayons. Four years ago I had a hip replacement and thought Coloured pencils might be a medium I could work with while I recovered. As it turned out, that wasn’t so easy but I had purchased a set of Prismacolors and it sat for a year until I decided to try them out as a new medium to work in. I took a workshop and discovered I really liked working with the coloured pencils as I had always loved drawing as a child. I proceeded to do a few small paintings. These coloured pencils were definitely a step up from my school days ones! While looking for some materials in my art closet, I came upon the old Chucks painting stowed away at the back of the closet. I wondered if I could rework it with the newer coloured pencils using the old work as an under painting. So I patiently reworked the piece and over time this became what it now looks like. I also read a lot about the medium while in that process and it became quite a learning experience. And...last week it went to Australia to reside in a new home there. The inspiration for Queen of the Night Blooming Cereus came from a plant which was given to me about ten years ago. The plant hung in my bedroom for eight year and grew happily but never bloomed. It is basically a cactus. This plant only blooms for one night at midnight each year in mid summer in our Canadian climate. The bloom does stay on the leaf for a few days but only looks its best for one night. Two years ago I had noticed a wonderful scent in the house one night as I went to bed. I had never experienced the beautiful perfume of this plant so didn’t clue in to that it was the cereus blooming. The next day I noticed its spent bloom. Last year I watched for it to bloom and managed to catch it on the night and photographed it and this is the coloured pencil painting I did from my photography of the bloom at its best.

Name:ruth wallace

Bio:Ruth Wallace is a self-taught artist currently working with oils, colored pencil, acrylic, pastels, and graphite and experimenting with some mixed media. She enjoys painting all subject matter in a realistic style. ruthwallacefineart.com

Story:Sunflowers are exciting and inspiring for me for many reasons. The sight of one blooming just makes me smile! Here comes the sun was named so because when I look at the piece, I can feel the excitement and anticipation that one feels before something truly wonderful is about to happen. Can't you just feel it? Like the dawning of a new day as the sun is just peaking over the horizon beckoning us onto our best potential for the day! At that point, It feels like anything is possible. What the sunflower also represents to me is the awakening potential of light, and the effect the warm sunshine has on every living thing. It's essential for life as is joy, happiness, and peace. That's what the sunny sunflower represents to me. I always feel happy when I see a sunflower. Little darling!"Here comes the sun! (the title is inspired by the song by the Beatles)

Name:ruth wallace

Bio:Ruth Wallace is a self-taught artist currently working with oils, colored pencil, acrylic, pastels, and graphite and experimenting with some mixed media. She enjoys painting all subject matter in a realistic style. ruthwallacefineart.com

Story:Sunflowers are exciting and inspiring for me for many reasons. The sight of one blooming just makes me smile! Here comes the sun was named so because when I look at the piece, I can feel the excitement and anticipation that one feels before something truly wonderful is about to happen. Can't you just feel it? Like the dawning of a new day as the sun is just peaking over the horizon beckoning us onto our best potential for the day! At that point, It feels like anything is possible. What the sunflower also represents to me is the awakening potential of light, and the effect the warm sunshine has on every living thing. It's essential for life as is joy, happiness, and peace. That's what the sunny sunflower represents to me. I always feel happy when I see a sunflower. Little darling!"Here comes the sun! (the title is inspired by the song by the Beatles)

Name:drego cavalida

Bio:Hello every one i am from an artist /painter from Asia, from the Philippines,i am not really good at words because i am a shy type guy,, who loves to draw, paint... as long as related to the arts.

Story:my inspiration is my mother, who sacrificed alot for me

Name:Charlie Ellitts

Bio:I am an Art Lecturer, Artists, Illustrator and mother to 4 wonderful children living in the UK, England with my partner. I do not often get the time to practice what I preach but am currently taking some extended parental leave after having my 4th and final child to try and focus on finally progressing my artistic career. The prize of this contest would be greatly appreciated and have a positive impact on my career moving forward. Thanks for the opportunity.

Story:For this piece I took inspiration from my eldest daughter. She broke the mold when she was born. I have never met a person, yet a child, that has such an optimistic view on the world, never seeing any bad in anyone. This child has been through so much. yet always smiles and is always so kind. She pulls me even from the darkest times in life with that radiant smile. If she can remain positive, then so can I. I dedicate this to the sunshine in my life.