Alta Journal’s contributing artists made an impressive showing at Illustration West 60, the Society of Illustrators Los Angeles’s (SILA) annual competition and exhibition intended to highlight the best in illustrated art from California and around the globe. This was the first year that Alta entered art from our magazine in the contest, and creative director John Goecke was delighted by the acknowledgment.
“Editorial illustration is a vital component to the way we share stories at Alta,” said Goecke. “We’re lucky to work with some of the best artist contributors in the business, and it’s encouraging to see them receive this well-deserved recognition.”
Judging content as varied as gallery art and courtroom sketches, magazine covers and corporate logos, SILA accepts and ranks submissions in 11 categories. Alta contributing artists Mark Smith and Lisk Feng took top and second honors, respectively, in the Editorial category, while four others received nods for this work in Alta. See the winners below:
- Artist: Mark Smith
Category: Editorial Gold Award
Title: The Search of a Lifetime, Part IV - Artist: Lisk Feng
Category: Editorial Silver Award
Title: Paltry Gestures - Artist: Thomas Ehretsmann
Category: Editorial
Title: Not Everyone Should Be a Critic - Artist: Matt Mahurin
Category: Editorial
Title: Falling, Part II - Artist: James Ransome
Category: Editorial
Title: Biddy Mason and Hannah Embers Were Here - Artist: Chris Sickels
Category: Editorial
Title: The Next West - Artist: Chris Sickels
Category: Editorial
Title: The Next West: Air
Beth Spotswood is Alta's special projects director. In addition to her work for Alta, Spotswood has contributed to 7x7 Magazine, San Francisco Magazine, Discovery Channel, Slow News Day, KGO Radio, SFist and the San Francisco Chronicle, where she had her own weekly column in the Thursday edition of the newspaper. Spotswood's work in Alta has been recognized by the San Francisco Press Club, Los Angeles Press Club, and the FOLIO Awards.
