Local artist Esther Akrish has recently garnered praise for her work ‘Enchanting Gardens’, for which she received a special recognition award in the 13th Annual Summer Juried Online International Art Exhibition, hosted by Upstream People Gallery.

Approximately 120 artists from around the world entered their work in the international competition. The watercolor piece was selected by Laurence Bradshaw, Professor of art at the University of Nebraska, who served as juror for the contest.

Professor Bradshaw maintained that Akrish “has a delightful, investigative approach with watercolor as seen in her refreshing piece ‘Enchanting Gardens’. The visual portrayal of the people in the colorful scene is light and airy.”

Recalling the experience which led to the materialization of ‘Enchanting Gardens,’ Akrish says, “I snapped a photo of my sister while visiting the Botanical Gardens in Victoria, Canada. I was experimenting with taking liberties with color and applied unrealistic tones of color…I liked the outcome and decided to go with it. Apparently, it worked!”