Winners of the 1st Annual Best in Show Pets Art Competition

Our first annual Best In Show Pets Competition had our jurors (and editorial team) grinning for days. From cats and dogs to horses, cows, and fish, every entry was another reminder of the joy and inspiration that pets and animals bring to our lives. 

Best of all, because of our partnership with the Dumb Friends League, everyone who entered helped end pet homelessness and animal suffering. Together, we raised enough to help 50 animals receive behavior consultation, four lost pets be reunified with their owners, and one animal be rescued from a cruelty and neglect situation and transferred to safety. 

Take a Look at the Winning Art!

A Huge Thank-You to Our Esteemed Jurors

Yael Maimon

Yael Maimon is an Israeli artist well known for her Cats painting series. Her special bond with cats was created while volunteering for years at an animal rescue center in her hometown of Ashkelon. Although grounded in realism, her artwork is often impressionist in nature, traditional yet contemporary. Maimon enjoys painting in a variety of media including oil, pastel, watercolor, acrylic, and mixed media. Her artwork was featured in solo and collective art exhibitions in Israel and abroad, and has won numerous awards in international juried competitions.

Explore her work

Dana Hawk

Dana Hawk is an oil painter specializing in animal and figurative work. She attended Missouri State University initially as an art student but switched to Cell and Molecular Biology, going on to receive an M.S. in physical therapy from University of Colorado. She returned to art in 2003 and has been a recurring finalist in the Portrait Society of America Members Only Competition. Her work has also been recognized by the Art Renewal Center and the Salmagundi Club. Her work has been featured in multiple group shows at has been published in a number of publications, including Artists Magazine and American Art Collector.

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Bev Jozwiak

International award-winning artist Bev Jozwiak holds Signature membership in the American Watercolor Society, the National Watercolor Society (NWS), the Transparent Watercolor Society (TWS), Watercolor West (WW) and more. The Washington State artist has offered teaching workshops around the U.S and has served as a juror for the NWS annual exhibition. Jozwiak’s work has been featured in numerous magazines, including Watercolor Artist, and has been featured in the SPLASH Annual Watermedia Competition 11 times. Her work has been accepted into numerous shows and exhibitions, including the Shenzhen Watercolour Biennial show in China, and is part of numerous corporate and private collections. Jozwiak is the author of the book, Painting Life With Life, which focuses on painting people and animals, and a forthcoming book, Confident Brushstrokes.

Explore her work