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CMSA Art Director Wins ‘Best In Show’ At National Art Competition
CMSA Art Director Russ Elliott Wins Coveted 'Best In Show' for His Marilyn Monroe Sculpture At National Art Competition
CMSA Art Director Russ Elliott Wins ‘Best In Show’ At National Art Competition
Palm Harbor Artist Russ Elliott had a vision to capture the iconic beauty of Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe. He did just that with a life-size sculpture of the actress, which recently won “Best in Show” in the sculpture category (3D Mixed Media) in the Contemporary Art Gallery Online national competition.
The sculpture, which took Elliott years to create, was inspired by Elton John’s classic song, “Candle in the Wind”. Elliott said that he had hoped to capture Marilyn's essence in plaster much like Elton did with his timeless song. Simply entitled Marilyn, the beautifully detailed sculpture of the Hollywood goddess is nearly life size, standing approximately five feet tall and is designed to resemble a twinkling star when viewed at a distance. It depicts the famous scene from the 1955 movie "The Seven Year Itch" where Monroe holds down her dress as air blows up from a subway grate.
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Elliott plans to have it cast in bronze with a delicate white patina and ultimately hopes to have the piece in an upscale art gallery and sell a limited production of less than ten pieces.
“I am thrilled to have won such a prestigious honor with this sculpture, which I invested so much passion into creating,” comments Elliott. “It took years to sculpt the detail in her face and the illusion of movement in the folds of her dress. This is truly a one-of-a-kind piece of art.”
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In addition to sculpting, Elliott is a fine artist and digital artist. His career as a graphic artist as CMSA Advertising has enabled him to use his ability for visual interpretation in many different ways. He has been the Art Director at CMSA for over 30 years and has created many award-winning campaigns, including the agency’s 100+ Addy Awards for creative excellence.
When asked what his next creation would be, Elliott commented only that he had something “very interesting” in mind for a James Dean sculpture.
Contemporary Art Gallery Online holds an annual art competition in showcasing various types of artwork. The site, which began is 2001, specializes in the contemporary art form.
