It was another great year for the Natural Cannabis Company's 6th annual "High Art" competition, a contest that asks designers and artists to create packaging designs for the company's cannabis products. After an incredible turnout in 2018, High Art hit an even new high (!) in 2019: 4,000 entries from 129 countries this year, and on top of that, the artists really stepped it up!

Needless to say, it was a stressful journey to narrow down to the top 5! Here are the winners from this year's competion: 


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Winner! Texas-based Nick Sullo, also known as xsullo, crafts techno-dystopic works that move between analog and digital approaches. Touches of surrealism and a distinct color palette blend with Sullo’s tight linework, reminiscent of Moebius, techno-punk anime, or artists within the Heavy Metal roster. The artist often works abstractions into the pieces that resemble both digital glitches and painterly touches.

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#2: Argentinian artist Julian Bustos spends his time teaching art classes, illustrating school manuals, and occasional freelance work. He enjoys working with many mediums including oil, photography, watercolor, digital, and ceramics.

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#3: "My name is Locust, I am an Apache artist from San Francisco. I am a full time artist, I do paintings, murals, and digital art. My art tends to focus on the metaphysical and the absurd."

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#4: Qwark is a self-taught illustrator based in the Philippines specializing in digital painting and mural work. His visual style is made up of vivid lines and detail, sporting a contrasting array of elements derived from subcultures such as cyberpunk, steampunk and even fantasy RPG; his characters are stirred into his own interpretations of infinite parallel universes and make-believe worlds of sci-fi whim and wonder. Qwark's inspirations lie within three fundamental sources: Video Games, Street Art and Cannabis - as it helps with his creative process due to his inherent colorblindness. Today Qwark works as a freelance artist illustrating board games and, together with his crew, giving the city streets some color every chance he gets the spare time.

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#5: Anne Martwijit is a digital artist based in Bangkok, Thailand. Witches, fairies, mythologies and magic are inspirations to create her mysterious characters.