Celebrating the Season of Art!
Welcome to the December/january 2024 issue! As Adolfo and I reflect on 2023, we are amazed at the sounding board of the community we represent. Artist response in 2023 has been amazing in many ways. First, our artist subscribers (you) are increasing monthly in large numbers. There are more than 25,000 of us now. Our email news subscribers are up to 45,000, and social media now has over 65,000 engaged artists who use our content on a regular basis. If you don’t follow us on Facebook or Instagram, please do so. You are in for a plethora of inspiration.
This issue has a great demonstration line up for you with nearly 10 artists. I want to spotlight the amazing Lavely Miller. Lavely is a master painter focused on large-scale figures and portraits. Her expressive painting style, blending hard and soft edges, creates a timeless quality and the most beautiful, exquisite eyes. She was one of the ten finalists for the prestigious Bennett Prize in 2021, and her art is shown and can be purchased at Arcadia Contemporary in Soho, New York. She graduated summa cum laude with a BFA in studio art from James Madison University. You can see her demonstration starting on page 82.
Alyssa Tidwell, editor, has put together our brand new annual section “Art Materials & Supplies.” She will tell you more about it on the next page. You will want to keep this issue as a reference. We are also entering our 26th year of our International Art Competition. We know that as you ascend to greatness, your path will lead you to juried art competitions. One of them is our own highly acclaimed Art Challenge. Now, it’s more exclusive than ever, as we only pick one Grand Prize Winner, plus a Second and Third Prize Winner and five finalists. The Grand Prize Winner of the competition will have their art featured in International Artist as well as our sister publication American Art Collector to bolster your visibility and distinction. Now that we have your attention—please see our website for our 2024 upcoming competitions, or visit our Call for Entries page on page 17 for more information.
Ready for the new year? We certainly are—and we wish your days to be filled with art, joy, health and success for the coming new year! Thank you for choosing the amazing job of being an artist. We love to hear your stories. Happy Holidays from our entire team!
Sincerely,
Wendie Martin & Adolfo Castillo Publishers