Creative Quarterly is an international journal focusing on promoting work in graphic design, illustration, photography, and fine art.

Competitions are open to all artists, designers, and photographers at all levels: professionals, students, amateurs. Winners and Runner-ups are featured online with winners advancing to the publication's 100 Best Show.

Rahele Jomepour Bell, "I Miss Momma's Happy Days."

Assistant Professor of Illustration Rahele Jomepour Bell submitted work from her recent book Missing Momma, written by Winsome Bingham and published by Abrams Books.

"I have a profound appreciation for expressive and dynamic brushstrokes. My artistic process involves crafting unique textures by hand, which I then translate into digital mediums, ultimately refining my creations to evoke the essence of traditional media," she said.

"Throughout the journey of creating illustrations for this book, I found inspiration in the work of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, whose work greatly influenced my artistic expression."

Missing Momma explores the themes of a veteran's PTSD and the enduring love within a family, showcasing both the joyful and challenging moments they experience together.

"I aimed to capture the happiness shared between the child and mother, using loose brush strokes to convey the deep emotions woven throughout the story," she said, referencing her work including the piece winning the CQ78 Professional Runner-Up: Illustration Award.

"This piece ["I Miss Momma’s Happy Days."] portrays the tender bond between a mother and daughter navigating the shadows of despair together. I aimed to capture the raw, unfiltered emotions that arise from the heart of a child whose mother is grappling with the weight of depression, a haunting echo of her experiences in the war," she said.

"In their shared moments, you can feel the struggle, the love, and the resilience, highlighting how they find strength in each other even amidst the darkness," she said.

Professor of Illustration John Ferry won in the CQ78 Professional: Fine Art Category for "Chicago #5"—a part of his series of oil paintings of Chicago alleyways. The listed gallery for the piece is The Art Collective Gallery.

Ferry also won the same category in CQ77 and CQ76 for "Chicago #4" (Galeria Paloma Larroy) and the multi-piece "City of Chicago" works (Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art), respectively.

"I'm an Illinois native—Decatur, IL—and I love Chicago," he said.

"I feel this series of paintings is one of the strongest series that I've worked on and I've been pleased with my finished results," Ferry said.

John Ferry, "Chicago #5" & "City of Chicago #6"

Sara Baum, 3 Point Perspective Drawing

Also notable, Illustration Junior Sara Baum received Student Runner-Up: Illustration for "3 Point Perspective Drawing."

Baum said the piece references KCAI's East Building—specifically, an area near the the Printmaking Department. Baum was also inspired by parkour communities and video games like Mirror's Edge—keeping the piece very stylistically simple, both in its line work and in its color—while also keeping texture to a minimum unlike Baum's usual work.

"I like that I managed to capture this space with so little detail, and that the perspective worked out so well," Baum said.

And reaching back to CQ76, Assistant Professor of Illustration Cydney Cherepak won Professional Runner-Up: Illustration for "A New Orbit." (Below)

Cydney Cherapak, A New Orbit

And reaching back to CQ76, Assistant Professor of Illustration Cydney Cherepak won Professional Runner-Up: Illustration for "A New Orbit." (Below)