2020’S BEST ANIMAL REALISTS NAMED BY 25 GALLERIES:

6 min readOct 28, 2020

MONICA LEE, DANIELA RUM, SAM DOLMAN, MARION TUBIANA, DILLON CORSAIR, LINDA BESSE, HENDERIKUS “HARRIE” G.A.M. VONK, SILVIA SCHMIDT, KATHY S. COPSEY, RD MITCHELL, SKYZUNE ART, PATRICIA GAUSS, SHARON SMITH, JACQUELINE CLARISSE, DEAN LOUCKS

Painters, photographers, sculptors and digital artists from 62 countries competed in the most prestigious online art call, AMERICAN ART AWARDS, https://www.americanartawards.com/, where America’s 25 best galleries and museums score art in 50 categories. In this column, I’ll reveal the world’s best contemporary artists of 2020 one category at a time.

Winners in this category are from Malaysia, Italy, UK, France, USA, Germany and Australia.

BIO OF FIRST PLACE WINNER: MONICA LEE

a digital imaging artist for a photography studio for 12 years. It wasn’t until 2013 that she decided to pick up a pencil again just for fun, but realized that she still loves drawing. Quitting her job to become a full-time artist, Monica’s appreciation and admiration of the value of good photographs sparked her interest in photorealism.

Specializing only in charcoal and graphite, her style of drawing emphasizes the details of her subject matter. Through her works, she hope to portray the beauty of wildlife animals. Hopefully it will inspire people to appreciate and help protect it for future generations.

In 2020, Monica was a finalist in the Golden Turtle Wildlife Art Competition, Russia. https://www.facebook.com/monicaleeart

BIO OF FIRST PLACE WINNER: Daniela Rum

The Italian artist approached art for the first time in 2013 without professional training. A strong passion for art touched her heart urging her to start a series of courses. Daniela studied at an Illustration school “Entry Level” Ars In Fabula and did several workshops with painters, Erica Calardo and Ania Tomicka to learn other techniques. Subsequently, she discovered the soft pastel technique which was instant love. Daniela went on to workshops with master pastel artists like Ruben Belloso Adorna, Tina Guerrisi and Vincente Romero Redondo.

She is currently vice president of the only Italian soft pastel association, Pasit Pastellisti Italiani, she also won several prizes and exhibited internationally. http://www.danielarum.com

Each May the American Art Awards organization selects the 25 Best Galleries and Museums in America, then in autumn these revered art institutions vote on online art to decide the world’s best contemporary artists.

Last month America’s 25 Best Galleries scored almost 2,000 works in 50 categories from 62 countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Australia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Haiti, Hong Kong, India, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Republic Of Korea, Romania, Russia, South Korea, Serbia, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Uganda, UK, Ukraine, USA, Venezuela, Zimbabwe.

COLLECTORS wanting to acquire these pieces or contact the artists can get direct links here: https://www.americanartawards.com/2020-winning-art/

Enter here: https://www.americanartawards.com/register-to-enter-3/

CONTACTS FOR CATEGORY 33. REALISM — ANIMAL

1ST PLACE-TIE DANIELA RUM ITALY daniela_rum@yahoo.it
“Rex Noctis” 42x30" Soft pastel on Pastelmat paper.

1ST PLACE-TIE MONICA LEE MALAYSIA https://www.facebook.com/monicaleeart “Reaching For The Stars” 50x35" Graphite & charcoal on paper.

2ND PLACE-TIE SAM DOLMAN UK www.samdolman.com “Hope” 80x100cm Oil on wood.

2ND PLACE-TIE MARION TUBIANA FRANCE www.mariontubiana.com “Satao” 100x100cm Oil on canvas.

2ND PLACE-TIE DILLON CORSAIR USA dillon713@icloud.com
“Scavenger” 18x24" Color pencil, watercolor, acrylic.

3RD PLACE-TIE MARION TUBIANA FRANCE www.mariontubiana.com “Malkia" 40x50cm Pastel.

3RD PLACE-TIE LINDA BESSE USA www.besseart.com
“Ice Bear” 22x36" Oil on panel.

4TH PLACE-TIE HENDERIKUS “HARRIE” G.A.M. VONK USA www.facebook.com/TheHarrieArt/ “Wild Turkey” 14x11" Colored pencil.

4TH PLACE-TIE SILVIA SCHMIDT GERMANY www.silvia-schmidt-farbreisen.de “Never Wake A Sleeping Lion” 24x30cm Pastel.

4TH PLACE-TIE KATHY S. COPSEY USA www.kathycopsey.com
“The Dream Of The Uwohali” 18x24” Acrylic with texture on canvas.

5TH PLACE-TIE RD MITCHELL USA www.rdmitchellcollection.com “A Frenzy Of Desire” 27.5x23" Oil on panel.

5TH PLACE-TIE SKYZUNE ART FRANCE www.skyzune-art.com
“Agapao” 100x100cm Oil and gold paint on linen canvas.

6TH PLACE-TIE PATRICIA GAUSS USA https://www.facebook.com/Saturationpointart “Roxanne” 9x12" Colored pencil on Pastelmat.

6TH PLACE-TIE SHARON SMITH AUSTRALIA sharonsmith888@icloud.com
“Eager To Please (Kelpie Portrait)” 420x594mm Soft pastel.

6TH PLACE-TIE JACQUELINE CLARISSE FRANCE www.jacquelineclarisse.com “Victoria” 40x50cm Pastel.

6TH PLACE-TIE DEAN LOUCKS USA www.deanloucks.com
“Dogs” 26x36” Acrylic on canvas.

100 ARTICLES and 50 VIDEOS on the 50 CATEGORIES of the 2020 AMERICAN ART AWARDS WINNING ARTISTS will be at this link: https://www.americanartawards.com/press-on-2020-artists/