Fusion Art is pleased to announce the opening of the 4th Annual Leaves & Petals International Art Exhibition. The exhibition is now available for viewing on the Fusion Art website and features awards in three categories: Traditional Art, Digital Art & Photography and 3-Dimensional Art.

For this competition, both 2D and 3D artists were encouraged to share their best art and photography depicting flowers, leaves, herbs, plants, shrubs, bushes, hedges and other botanical or floral subjects. All artists, over the age of 18, regardless of location or experience, were encouraged to submit their best figurative art and photography.

The Leaves & Petals Best in Show winners are Hunter Jay for his acrylic on linen, “Exotica", Kay McBeath for her photograph, "Blue Hydrangeas" and Chelita Riojas for her aluminum sculpture, "Cactus Flower". Hunter, Kay and Chelita are Fusion Art's Featured Artists for the month of December 2018 and, as the Best in Show winners, all three artists are invited to participate in Fusion Art's 3rd Annual Group Show in Palm Springs in February 2019.

Other award winners include Second Place winners, Leah Dockrill for her watercolor, "Canna Among The Weeds", Shelley Benjamin for her digital photograph, "Into the Sun," and Gaige Qualmann for his copper sculpture, "The Witchcraft Orchid". Third Place awards were given to Stephanie Lawing for her acrylic on canvas, "Tulip Fever", Martha Nance for her photograph, "Swamp Oak Leaf,” and Julia O'Bryan for her ceramic sculpture, "Nature Through the Windows". Fourth Place awards were given to Dianna Yakobson for her ink pen on paper, "Hibiscus", Rebecca J. Case for her photograph, "Glorious Morning Glory", and Clody Cates for her copper sculpture, "Copper Rose". Fifth Place awards were given to Diane Liguori for her oil on board, "Park Avenue Canna Lilly" and Felice Willat for her photograph, "Sunflower".

Rounding out the awards for the exhibition are twelve Honorable Mention winners. Honorable Mention awards in the Traditional Art category are given to Cheryl Plautz for her scratchboard, "Daylilies", Nancie Quah for her colored pencil on paper, "Pink Lotus", Natalia Astankina for her oil on canvas, "Dahlia", Brian McClear for his oil on canvas, "Fossil and Lily", Mark Riley for his watercolor, "Portrait of a Rose," and Sheila Lamberson for her oil on gallery wrapped canvas, "Dogwood Tranquility".

Honorable Mention awards in the Digital & Photography category are given to Peter Cucchiara for his digital photograph, "Rose Drops," Peter Lemiska for his photo on metal, "Graphic Palm", Dale M. Reid for her silver gelatin print, "Anthurium 2," Fretta Cravens for her archival inkjet print, "Flower Composition 12," J. Michael for his digital photo manipulation on canvas, "New Star," and Ulrike Unterbruner  for her digital photograph, "Dynamic Beauty".

The remaining finalists in the exhibition all exemplified uniquely creative talents and we are honored to showcase their artwork on the Fusion Art website.

The international competition received a diverse collection of quality artwork from artists all around the world, including the US, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, India, Faroe Islands, Hong Kong, Germany, Malaysia, Mexico, Estonia, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Finland, Brazil, and New Zealand. The exhibition will be featured on the Fusion Art website for the month of December 2018.

Founded by Award winning artist, Chris and Valerie Hoffman, Fusion Art was envisioned and formed out of a passion for art and the artists who create it. The website promotes and connects new, emerging and established artists with collectors and art enthusiasts, while offering the opportunity to participate in art competitions, exhibitions and experiences.

Each month and quarter Fusion Art hosts uniquely themed solo and group art competitions and exhibitions. Both winners and finalists are provided with worldwide exposure, by having their work promoted through Fusion Art’s website, in hundreds of press release announcements, email marketing, online event calendars, art news websites and through the gallery’s social media outlets. The gallery’s objective is to promote the artists, worldwide, to art professionals, gallerists, collectors and buyers.

To view the exhibition and for further information on all the winners and finalists, please visit Fusion Art's website: https://fusionartps.com/4th-leaves-petals-art-exhibition-dec-2018/.