Sandy Byers, a Whidbey Island, Wash., artist, goes for vivacity in her works. “I want to paint those things which cause a sudden and constant lump in my throat, a thought that won't go away or an image that swirls around in my mind's eye until it can finally come to life on the easel,” she says on her website.

It shows, too, in her pastels, oils and acrylics. Check out her painting that won an honorable mention in our eighth annual Pastel 100 Competition.