**Wow, some beautiful enties thus far... Kort, what a great shot of the TRACKS, and Gun, that Mandala has a wonderful combination of radial and bilateral symmetry, and tres cool colors! **

**What a great theme for the January Challenge, Gun! 
**

Quote - Thanks you two, here it is raining as  usual :-(

**
At least, one needn't shovel the rain!  ;)**

This is beautiful work, Gun; a dream destination, surely!

**Congratulations, koosievantutte -- yours was perhaps the most original entry -- very creative.  This was a tough subject -- (a Challenge should be, right?) -- and everyone did an amazing job. 

The December Challange looks like it will be fun!**

I love what you did with the gradient background on these, Gun.  They seem symbolic, too!

**Wonderful work, Everyone! 

I think this was a somewhat difficult Challenge theme, so it was both a surprise and a thrill to see what each of you created. 
A few of these 'tychs really stand out:

marren                  ~ A New Beginning ~                            3
helanker                 Simple Scene in 3                                 2
TomDart                Start to Finish                                         1**

**
Deserving of Honorable Mention:

mansco          'Perfect Strangers'               Like an opera hall and love the asymmetry!
Djavad           'Recto-Versant' diptych        Terrific use of distortion & opposing perspectives!**

Sounds like a reasonable date ...and now we must get busy, eh?    ;)

**Let me guess: his name must be Hooper?

Great compositing, Gun!**

**Thank you!  This has been an exciting Challenge.  Both the level of participation and the quality of the entries were nothing short of exceptional.  There was not a bad entry in the bunch.

As an artist, it is always personally pleasing when a piece turns out well, but when a work is also recognized by other talented artists, the experience becomes both deeply gratifying and very humbling at the same time.  You see, without the unwavering support of my family and the continual encouragement from my fellow artists here at Renderosity (that's YOU!), I would likely never have pursued digital art or my photography, other than the occasional snapshot.  Your conversations, camaraderie, and comments (both the complimentary and, especially, the critical ones) have helped me to grow as a person and as an artist, providing the impetus for much of my work, including Vertices .

            "We live by encouragement and die without it — slowly, sadly, angrily."    — Celeste Holm

May I invite everyone, and especially those of you who are new to the Challenge Forum, new to Renderosity, new to your present artistic medium or new to Art in general to stick around, stay involved, participate, and keep trying new ideas and techniques.  We learn so much from each other!  I have found the welcoming and supportive Art Community here at Renderosity.com to be the ideal place to do just that.

~ Carl Baumeister  *aka * Denger

Watch for the upcoming November Challenge

                                                          ...I hope to see you all there!**

**Minimalist art makes a bold statement, the strength of a given work deriving in part from its simplicity.  What the artist withholds speaks just as loudly (and often more loudly) than what the artist reveals.  In minimalism, a title can also be very important, since it may plant a suggestion within the mind's eye of the viewer.  The title affects an individual's interpretation of that piece. 

In my opinion, minimalist imagery is always pared down to its most basic components; each part of the whole existing for a clear purpose: nothing is superfluous, nothing redundant, nothing excessive.

Based on these criteria, the task of voting for only three pieces became a daunting one, as there were numerous submissions which deserved a "3".  Those listed below certainly did.  That said, my vote reflects not only those works which are truly minimalism, but those which I believe show exceptional insight.  The following works clearly say something, and they say it in an unmistakably beautiful way...

RuyBerna        "Light Door"     3 *

jstro                 "Caution"          2

ARTWITHIN     "FLOW"            1

Deserving of Special Honorable Mention:

Conniekat8    "Solution"

Deserving of Honorable Mention:

Analog-X      "Face of Bubbles"

awjay            Excerpt from "Window on a Window"

*  It must be said that "Silhouette Kiss" by RuyBerna would have received my "3", had the brightness level of that image been reduced and the contrast level slightly increased.  In this instance, the good was the enemy of the best.**

**Nice work, everyone; all very minimalist...

Hey, Rich2 -- I was going to become a procrastinator, too, but I never got around to it.  

;)**

Love the shadow and light; great doorway graphic (and metaphor?)...

Great minimalist photo, awjay; brilliant colors!