BTDesign Art Gallery

The Master of 2006

Our international panel of judges

Siegfried Schreck Siegfried is the winner of the Master of 2000 Award. He was born in Bottrop, Westf. Germany in 1948 and lives in Hamburg with his wife Siegrid. He wrote many poems and lyrics for different composers in the song and rock/pop business and published them in four books. He is a digital painter who has exhibited his artworks in many online exhibitions in the Internet and has won international prices for his digital paintings and poem. He was Guest Artist of the Month, September 2000 and has been evaluating Digital Artists for the Master award since 2001. ::: Website ::: :::Interview:::
Rocío Heredia Rocío is a self-taught Metalsmith artist of the Mexican Contemporary generation. Her artistic and creative mentor, Master Efrén Ordóñez, a mexican painter, provides support and inspiration. She is known for her extraordinary Icon covers and Jewish art, drenched in vivid brightness, and infused with the innate drama of Metals. She holds a degree in Psychology and worked for two years in a Psychotherapy Clinic with children with low I.Q. and in the area of Psychodiagnosis, before starting a Day Care Center, which she operated for 6 years. She currently divides her time between professional website creation and metalwork. She has studied with the Master Silversmith Valentin Yotkov, in Brooklyn, New York. Rocío has been the recipient of recognition and awards for skillful and passionately realized themes. She teaches classes and workshops on her Chasing and Repoussé technique in Mexico and abroad. Her works are in private collections in Mexico, the United States, Switzerland, Israel, Spain, Norway and Italy. She was Guest Artist of the Month, December 2001, scoring second place in Best Artworks and Best Artsite and third in the Master of 2001. Rocío interviews many of the guest artists for BTDesign Art Gallery and has been evaluating Sculptors for the Master award since 2002. She is also an accomplished website creator. ::: Website :::.
Nico Bastone Nico is the winner of the Master of 2002 and Best Photography awards. He was born in Piana degli Albanesi (Sicily, Italy) in 1953. He fell in love with photography in 1967 at school in Turin when he attended a photography class whose teacher was a photo-amateur friar, Father Giuseppe. He didn't own a camera himself at that time, they were ten pupils and a Smena 8, a Russian camera. At 19 Nico bought his first reflex, a Yashica FR. At present his equipment is more complete, a Contax and a Leica with original lenses, but he likes to say "when you get fascinated by photography every camera can be great to let you express yourself. The pleasure is on watching the world through its eye, keeping your finger ready to shot and capture the image". He was Guest Artist of the Month, June 2002 and has been evaluating Photographers for the Master Award since 2003. ::: Website ::: :::Interview:::.
Eve Riser-Roberts Eve studied art in London and Wales and at Ventura College, CA, and has participated in numerous art workshops conducted by nationally acclaimed artists. She has received many awards in juried competitions, and her art has been published in Muse magazine from the publishers of the Smithsonian. Her works are in collections in the USA, England, and Germany, where she lived and worked as a Microbiologist. She is currently painting pictures of women, cats, and koi. Her four California cats - Fledermaus in her arms in the photo - serve as the inspiration for her web site, The Cat Gallery. She was Guest Artist of the Month, April 2001 and has been evaluating Painters for the Master Award since 2002. ::: Website :::
Valentin Yotkov Valentin is the winner of the 2002 Best Sculpture award. Born and trained in Bulgaria in the old-world guild system of silversmithing, Valentin Yotkov served his apprenticeship under the masters of Europe and learned his skills in the hands-on fashion. At the age of 22 he became the youngest member of the National Silversmiths Guild of Bulgaria. Currently Valentin Yotkov resides and works in the United States where he is recognized by the American Government as being one of the Premier designer Silversmiths, and foremost experts in the art of Chasing and Repoussé. His art has appeared in international exhibitions in Japan, Greece, Russia, Mexico, Italy, Mongolia, India, U.S.A., and China since 1982. In addition, private collections around the world proudly include the creative genius of this Master Silversmith. The Valentin Yotkov Studio is the only school in the USA specialized in chasing/repousse instruction. Valentin also teaches at other schools in the US and abroad. Among his recent students Mr. Yotkov trained members of the Tiffany & Co.'s silverware department. He was Guest Artist of the Month, February 2001 and has been evaluating Sculptors for the Master Award since 2003. ::: Website ::: :::Interview:::.
Susanne Iles Susanne Iles is an artist and writer from British Columbia, Canada. Drawing upon interests in mythology, spirituality, anthropology and ancient history, Susanne explores her particular passion for dragons. Painting in a contemporary symbolist style, her work is described as dreamlike and mythical, encompassing light and dark and the sacred. Susanne has exhibited internationally. The virtual gallery "dracoBlu" contains much of her portfolio and a wealth of information on dragon mythology. Additionally, Susanne curates The International Juried Online Symbolist Art Show, an annual competition including surreal, visionary and fantastic genres. The 2002 show, "The Dreamer and the Dreamed", attracted more than 200 entries from artists representing 19 countries. She was Guest Artist of the Month, April 2002 and has been evaluating Painters for the Master award since 2003. ::: Website ::: :::Interview:::.
Gene Gill Gene was born in Memphis, Tennessee and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from The Chouinard Art Institute (now called The California Institute of the Arts). He has exhibited widely in the Los Angeles area since 1970, in group shows as well as in one-man exhibitions. His paintings and graphics are included in the permanent collections of The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Palm Springs Desert Museum, Container corporation of America, Atlantic Richfield Corporation, The Northrop Corporation, Home Savings, and The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. In addition to his career as an artist, Gene Gill was an art teacher with the Los Angeles School District for 25 years. He was Guest Artist of the Month, February 2001 and has been evaluating Painters and Sculptors for the Master award since 2002. ::: Website :::.
Helyn Davenport Helyn is a Psychology and Business major from St. Petersburg Junior College in St. Petersburg, Florida. Her work has evolved from her journey through self-discovery and her gift of visual expression to one of today's most widely acclaimed photographic artists. Combining years of dedication to promoting the industry, the appreciation of the arts, and leadership to art-related societies, Helyn delves into the virtual world of the Internet. Helyn's work has been featured in numerous publications and galleries, winning competitions for her photographic work, has been very rewarding and has enabled Helyn to make numerous contacts around the world. She is a member of the International Association of Digital Fine Art Printers and serves as President of Pixiport. She was BTDesign Art Gallery Guest Artist of the Month, September 2001 and has been evaluating Photographers for the Master award since 2002. ::: Website :::.
Derek Oakes Derek has been in computing for the last 34 years. He began as a Cobol and BAL programmer in the days when programs were entered on punch cards (and programmers hand punched the cards). Over the years since then, Derek has tried most of the management roles in the computing industry and currently is responsible for software quality with a global 'solution provider'. He is fascinated by the potential of the internet. He is webmaster and designer for two sites - The John Groves Studio which he produces for a family member and HULA Animal Rescue which he runs on behalf of a local animal charity. Derek's hobbies (not supprisingly) include sailing and animals. Derek has been evaluating Painters and Sculptors for the Master award since 2001.
Joke Mertens Joke Mertens was born in 1951 in the Netherlands and is a self-taught semi-professional photographer. Some of her photos have been exhibited in an artgallery in Amsterdam and she had her work published in the dutch digital photography magazine "Pixelmania" recently. Together with her husband Wim she runs her own private webdesign/photography company and started her online gallery at "Orbit Studio, Photography & Design". She has taken many photographs during her travels to France and Greece, inspired by the light, deepblue skies and the colors of the different landscapes and architecture. In the Netherlands where she lives she has also taken many photographs; the beach and the farmlife in Northern Holland are her favorite places to come and "shoot" the landscapes. A friend of hers, also a photographer, taught her many things; books and experiments were her other teachers. Joke has and always had much pleasure in capturing "the image". She was Guest Artist of the Month, November 2002 and has been evaluating Photographers for the Master award since 2003. ::: Website ::: :::Interview:::.
Ismo Jokiaho Ismo is a 38 years old art enthusiast and artist who paints mostly with oils in abstract manner. He began to paint when he was about twenty, after a crucial trip in 1984 to different European art museums. After that experience his interest for painting grew. He studied literature and arts at the University of Joensuu in Eastern Finland. He has been working with computers and web-design for the last three years. He is the web designer for the cultural centre's site in the city of Turku where he lives. He is the owner of Blackhole (FM)- The Art of Ismo Jokiaho and also the webmaster of the artist association of Western Uusimaa. He was BTDesign Art Gallery Guest Artist of the Month, June 2001 and has been evaluating Painters for the Master award since 2002. ::: Website :::.
Karin Kuhlmann Karin is the winner of the 2002 Best Digital Art award.She was born in 1948 in Wiedenbrück, Gemany but now lives and works in Verl. After leaving school in 1967 with a secondary degree she concluded a professional education as a photographer and graphic designer. At first she was an employee of Bertelsmann publishing house and worked some years in the publicity department of the Nobilia factory, a furniture and kitchens producer. Since 1976 Karin has been working as a freelancer for several publicity agencies and advertising departments. As an example she cared for a club-journal for Radio Télé Luxemburg for several years. In 1994 she discovered the computer as her personal artistic medium. She exhibited her digital art in Germany, Canada, Hawaii USA, Mexico and Italy and received many international prizes like Winner of the Month in the Corel World Design Contest (January/February 97 and May 97) and also several Honorable Mentions, WHYNOT Award, Winner of the 2003 IDAA (International Digital Art) award and the 2003 Laurence Gartel Award for Excellence. She was Guest Artist of the Month, May 2002 and has been evaluating Digital Artists for the Master award since 2003. ::: Website ::: :::Interview:::.