My Entry to the "Pay It Forward Curation Contest" by @thedarkhorse

I am very happy to take part in this contest to highlight the profile of two of my Steemian friends who I feel would appreciate having their work featured in this way and to also introduce someone I have only just met myself, and who I feel is doing a great job in the short space of time since he joined Steemit only 2 months ago .

If you'd like to take part in this contest here are the details:
https://steemit.com/payitforward/@thedarkhorse/pay-it-forward-curation-contest-week-1

Part of the requirements for this contest is to choose 3 Steemians of lower reputation than myself to include in this post. There will be 2 Winners each week and it's based on how long you have been on Steemit.

@thedarkhorse is hoping that through this contest bloggers who are posting quality material will benefit from these features and encouragement. He says, "This contest is truly here to help gain exposure for posts that deserve more of the reward pool than they are currently getting. Lets help reward bloggers who clearly put effort into their posts, but just aren't seeing the rewards that you think are deserved."

The first person I'd like to encourage is a dear friend of mine who is not only extremely talented, she has a warm, outgoing personality and has a heart of gold. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that she will be a valued member of Steemit for a very long time. I have been an admirer of Jolanta's artistic skills for a while and it is obvious to me that she loves working with bold and striking colours and many shades in between. She produces unique, textural art which feature both surrealism and whimsical effects.

Jolanta produces abstracts which, when viewed will take us on a delightful journey of fantasy and beauty and I, for one need more than just a casual look at her finished pieces. Her art inspires me to admire every fine detail, every flowing line and every blended tone and colour and then wonder how she married them altogether so perfectly. I become completely absorbed with appreciation whenever I have the pleasure of viewing her work and I believe both her paintings and her photographic art reflect her free spirit of fun, colour and adventure.

Jolanta's Bubble Dream Abstract is just one of her many outstanding works of art. With this piece, she has actually combined digital enhancements to her original painted canvas background which I feel shows flare and confidence and is a great example of what makes her art very unique.

https://steemit.com/artzone/@artbyjolla/bubble-dream-abstract-by-c-artbyjolla

Now let me introduce you to another passionate Steemian. @jctdesign James is a product designer and enjoys the designing process from the inception of an idea through to its completed prototype. He is a keen cyclist and is prepared to take his bike over roads, up mountains, across tracks including cyclocross. This enthusiasm finds him riding his bike to work (how many people do that for fun?) and he enjoys riding in his hometown of Greenville, South Carolina.

Despite his full time job, a family and additional interests, James devotes time to his hobby of photography which is his main focus on Steemit. He does share in his introduction post that he enjoys being a part of this community and I have had the pleasure of interacting with him from time to time and always enjoy viewing his talented photography. He takes the time to meet other photographers in Steemit (professional and hobbyists) both of whom, inspire him to improve his skills with the camera. He also shares the same enjoyment I do in entering the various contests here, which is a great way to be introduced to different people who are like minded.

The reasons I chose this blog in particular was, I recognized the photos which James had shared as I had actually lived in the district of Tainhe in Guangzhou not far from where he took these images. Looking at those tall buildings brought back a lot of memories for me. I also liked the fact that he submitted photos taken during the day and also at night for comparison. That is quite a view isn't it?

https://steemit.com/cityscapephotography/@jctdesign/day-and-night-in-guangzhou

The third Steemian I'd like to introduce to you is someone I have only just met myself. His tagname is @adamfryda-art and after reading his introduction post I couldn't help but admire the way he took on one of life's biggest challenges which is to change direction re; employment. Certain events led him to following his heart and his artistic passion and pursue his life-long interest in painting and drawing.

He has had a very interesting background as a curator in a museum, as a museum demonstrator, a sculptor, a zoo education officer, a school governor and a manager for a formal education zoo team and has worked as an illustrator as well. That is a very impressive resume wouldn't you agree?

The post I have chosen to feature is this one:

https://steemit.com/art/@adamfryda-art/starving-artist-4-get-some-skills

I believe these business cards show his versatility and skill, plus his love of animals. Each individual card is a fine work of art.

Adam has written a very informative blog to encourage artists to be organized and how to get a healthy balance between creating and doing the necessary administration work in order to be successful. He provides sound advice about the need for artists to obtain and improve their business, marketing and social media skills......all vital components of advertising.

I would like to suggest this challenge to a few steemians I feel may enjoy encouraging others in this way also.
@cecicastor @keithboone @cooknbake @debralee @hope777