World’s Best Watercolorists / 2023 AMERICAN ART AWARDS: ZHAI, MCCORD, ALI, HASSEY, SUN, PARR, MAHOBE, MING, DEGROAT, DA SILVA FREIRE & RADIVILOVIC
Artists from 72 countries competed in the 2023 AMERICAN ART AWARDS. Twenty of the most revered galleries in the USA were sent around 2,000 online images to score in drawing, painting, sculpture, digital and photography. The 300+ winning works, 1st to 6th Place (and ties) in all 50 categories, can be seen in this series of articles.
USA’s top galleries decided winners in every medium: oil, acrylic, watercolor, charcoal, pastel, realism, impressionism, naïve, abstract, expressionism, human figure, animal, landscape, fantasy, surrealism, pop, portrait, self-portrait, political, erotic, cubism, floral, humor, spiritual, etc..
Art collectors can see all the winning images and corresponding contact info to the best contemporary artists in the world here: https://americanartawards.com/2023-winning-artists-american-art-awards/
Winners in this category are from CHINA, USA, PAKISTAN, CANADA, NEW ZEALAND, INDIA, PORTUGAL & LITHUANIA.
BIO OF 1ST PLACE WINNER: Yanqi Zhai
A professional painter born in Inner Mongolia, China, he graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, specializing in realistic character painting. After graduation, he has been engaged in painting creation. Since 1997, he has been engaged in game art creation, creating a record of top 5 sales in mainland China and becoming an expert with industry influence. He has been a full-time artist since 2009, and his professional experience broadened his horizons. He chose to work hard in the field of realistic characters. Since 2017, he has participated in the National Painting and Sculpture Association of Spain Master Class and the Velazpeis Training Class, etc. Through learning, he has entered a higher level of understanding of painting. His inspiration comes from family, friends, familiar living environment and the things around him. The purpose of painting is that he wants to convey to the people an artist’s delicate expression of the world. www.yqzart.com
SEE ARTISTS SITES / ARTIST CONTACTS:
1st Place YANQI ZHAI CHINA www.yqzart.com “Old Shepherd” 76x56cm Watercolor on paper.
2nd Place — Tie LINDA MCCORD USA https://www.lindamccord.com/ “On The Mend” 20x28” Watercolor.
2nd Place — Tie MOAZZAM ALI PAKISTAN www.moazzamali.com “Sleeping Woman” 21x30” Watercolor.
3rd Place — Tie KIERAN HASSEY CANADA www.instagram.com/hitthepostsportsartworks “Super Mario” 18x24” Watercolor, paper.
3rd Place — Tie YUQIAN SUN CHINA http://www.yuqiansun.com “Artificial Fairies №11 / My Little Companion” 16x23” Watercolor on paper.
3rd Place — Tie OLGA PARR NEW ZEALAND https://www.facebook.com/oparrart “Wedding Day” 56x77cm Watercolor on paper.
4th Place — Tie YUQIAN SUN CHINA http://www.yuqiansun.com “Artificial Fairies №10 / Dissonance” 19x30cm Watercolor, ink, paper.
4th Place — Tie DR. YATINDRA MAHOBE INDIA yatindramahobe26@gmail.com “A Working Woman” 16x12” Watercolor on paper.
5th Place — Tie GUO MING CHINA 65092177@qq.com “Academician Meng Zhaozhen” 150x120cm Watercolor on linen.
5th Place — Tie GREGORY DEGROAT USA https://www.degroatartanddesign.com/ “Danny Boy” 12x16" Watercolor on paper.
6th Place — Tie JOÃO CARLOS DA SILVA FREIRE PORTUGAL https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100031928246930 “Flowers For My Love” 41x30cm Watercolor on paper.
6th Place — Tie ANA RADIVILOVIC LITHUANIA https://www.facebook.com/anaradivilovic “On The Shadow Side: Attraction Of Darkness” 30x40cm Watercolor.
In 2023, AMERICAN ART AWARDS had submissions from these 72 countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Switzerland, Tobago, Trinidad, Turkey, UK, Ukraine, USA, Viet Nam, Wales, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
USA’s 20 Best Galleries & Museums who were asked to score online art in 2023 were:
American Art Awards 20 Best Galleries & Museums for 2023, in alphabetical order:
BEST IN ARIZONA: Exposures International Gallery Of Fine Art
BEST IN CALIFORNIA: Sparks Gallery
BEST IN COLORADO: Mirada Fine Art
BEST IN FLORIDA: MAC Art Galleries
BEST IN GEORGIA: Black Art In America™ (BAIA)
BEST IN INDIANA: Gallery Forty-Two
BEST IN KANSAS: CityArts
BEST IN KENTUCKY: KMAC Contemporary Art Museum
BEST IN LOUISIANA: Jonathan Ferrara Gallery
BEST IN MAINE: Clarke Gallery
BEST IN MONTANA: Cawdrey Gallery
BEST IN NEBRASKA: Kiechel Fine Art
BEST IN NEVADA: Elena Bulatova Fine Art
BEST IN NEW MEXICO: Thornwood Gallery
BEST IN NEW YORK: Gallery 23 NY
BEST IN SOUTH CAROLINA: Mary Martin Galleries Of Fine Art
BEST IN TEXAS: Ao5 Gallery
BEST IN SOUTH DAKOTA: South Dakota Art Museum
BEST IN VERMONT: Helmholz Fine Art
BEST IN WYOMING: Gallery Wild
American Art Awards https://www.americanartawards.com/ annually awards 20 museums and/or galleries, who agree to score art and award nearly 300+ deserving contemporary artists from 60+ countries: painters, photographers, sculptors and digital artists.
