Featured ArtAscent Gold artists and writers from ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal issues from 2019 through 2026

Tal Eshed

Gold Artist of the 2019 "Water" art exhibition

Since the beginning of modern history, there has been a sense that humanity is drifting away from our wild roots. For the artist Tal Eshed, it is water that could allow us to re-establish the lost connection with our natural selves.

Tal Eshed is the Gold Artist of the ArtAscent Water call for artists. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Water issue.

www.taleshed.com

Taria Karillion

Planet Earth Will Soon Be Closing, Please Make Your Final Choices

The view of Earth from orbit always made Professor Verle Coby profoundly sad. In its derelict state, the sparse web of clouds that clung to its blue and brown surface reminded him of the Earth story of the elderly human who lived in her shabby, tattered wedding dress. The passengers were watching the time-lapse holo-ad of the planet’s history and ingesting the press-out pizza and bubble-gum discs from the guidebook…

Exploring a dystopian future as a means to remind her reader the time is now for action, writer Taria Karillion conjures the pain of lost existence in Planet Earth Will Soon be Closing, Please Make Your Final Choices

Taria Karillion is the Gold Writer of the ArtAscent Water call for writers. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Water issue.

Leslie Carpenter-Holt

ArtAscent Gold Artist of the White call for artists.

The very first (and perhaps most banal) association with white that pops into one’s mind is snow. Thus, sometimes this color gets a slightly melancholic flavor. However, photographs of Leslie Carpenter-Holt challenge the stereotypical association of winter with a cold void.

Leslie Carpenter-Holt is the Gold Artist of the ArtAscent White call for artists. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal White issue.

Manny Veiga

Getting Away With It

I’m wearing green-tinted sunglasses as I shove my way through the crowded square. It makes the world around me look even hotter than it feels. The crowd is a hornet’s nest of flailing arms and shaking fists. It’s not just the heat that has people stirred up…

In Getting Away With It, author Manny Veiga brings to life a complex, colourful character who reveals as much as he obscures and leaves the reader poised for the next chapter in a brief yet compelling episode.

Manny Veiga is the Gold Writer of the ArtAscent White call for writers. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal White issue.

https://zmveiga.wordpress.com/

Jeremy Underwood

Gold artist of ArtAscent's 2019 Abstract call for artists.

When it comes to photography and land art, it seems nothing can be more realistic than they are. But a closer look reveals both of these art use tools of abstraction. How? The artwork of Jeremy Underwood brightly demonstrates that.

Jeremy Underwood is the Gold Artist of the ArtAscent Abstract call for artists. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Abstract issue.

http://jeremyunderwood.com/

Susan Nickerson

Sugar Mountain

I sit perched on the edge of the proverbial shrink couch. I reach into my handbag and fumble around for a piece of gum before I divulge my inner secret. “I’m a sugar addict,” I blurt. “I’m also a neurotic and a long-time, anxiety-ridden insomniac.” There. I said it. I have been exposed to my core…

Blending playful fantasy with tender reality, Susan Nickerson’s short yet engaging essay Sugar Mountain offering a fascinating experiment with abstract imagination while also enveloping the reading in an all-too familiar scenario. Using a real-world experience as the inspiration for this piece, Susan channeled the sensations of a moment of misunderstood instruction into a delightful exploration of desires and drives.

Susan Nickerson is the Gold Writer of the ArtAscent Abstract call for writers. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Abstract issue.

John Patkau

ArtAscent Gold Artist of the Beauty 2019 call for artists.

After the radical changes in the artistic practices of the 20th century, beauty seems to longer be the core issue of art. However, contemporary artists, like John Patkau, keep researching this sphere. What motivates and inspires him?

John Patkau is the Gold Artist of the ArtAscent Beauty call for artists. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Beauty issue.

https://patkau.ca/filter/research/

Chynna Laird

Beauty in Love

Many of us define beauty in terms of what we see, not what we feel. This makes sense since what we see gives us a complete picture. It’s touchable and real. What we often forget, however, is that how we individually interpret what we see stems from the feelings that surface when we take in a setting, object, or person…

In “Beauty in Love,” author Chynna Laird reveals a transformative moment in her youth that helped her realize the beauty within when exposed to the true beauty of love. Chynna’s story of beauty will undoubtedly resonate with many readers as it brings to mind any painful moment in life when we faced personal struggle.

Chynna Laird is the Gold Writer of the ArtAscent Beauty call for writers. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Beauty issue.

www.chynnalairdauthor.ca

Gill Bradley

ArtAscent Gold Artist of the Figures call for artists.

Gill Bradley’s Taking the Plunge series elevates his study of the figure by capturing the nuances of personality in the most minute of gestures. Gestural yet genuine in the mood they convey, these selections reveal Gill’s sensitivity toward her sitters.

Gill Bradley is the Gold Artist of the ArtAscent Figures call for artists. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Figures issue.
http://www.gillbradleydesign.com

Christopher O’Meara

Beach Bodies

Growing up my parents liked to call me the smartest, the prettiest, the absolute best. I believed all of it, for a while at least. Adolescence has a way of fracturing even the most cherished fragments of nostalgia…

One of the Hollywood icons of the 1930s, Mae West, said, “I speak two languages, Body and English.” As every language, we can use it to express ourselves or to meet others’ expectations, as proven throughout the following story by Christopher O’Meara.

Christopher O’Meara is the Gold Writer of the ArtAscent Figures call for writers. To see the full body of work and profile, get a copy of the ArtAscent Art & Literature Journal Figures issue.
www.christopheromeara.com