The Beach: The Winner
By Nicola Boccaccini
One of the strongest things in this image is the composition. It’s a tough proposition to cut the page with a strict horizontal horizon and then find enough of a story to balance the lower half. The few elements used here contain a sort of mysterious story-telling for the reader to unfold.
The Beach: Runner-up #1
By Julien Couty
I like both the thought — how you drop everything for a moment of naked freedom — and the way it is rendered here. The composition funnels your attention to the small lone figure losing himself in the ocean.
The Beach: Runner-up #2
By Catherine Denvir
The somber moodiness of this painting captures the metaphysical feeling one sometimes gets at the beach. This painting has enough presence that it seems to have an internal logic of its own.
The Beach: Runner-up #3
By Marcel Ceuppens
This week’s beach theme seems to have inspired many off-beat and surreal images. What’s nice in this one is that the ripple and shadow draw your eyes to the tiny detail of the rolled up pant-cuffs.
The Beach: Runner-up #4
By CheeYang Ong
This is a very good use of color to brighten up a day in the big city businessman’s life. I like the relentless repetitive rhythm of the train tracks and the stark black and white ceiling beams. He’s poised in the middle - can’t WAIT to get to the beach.
The Beach: Runner-up #5
By Birgit Schössow
A good composition and a good graphic representation of the cityscape. I don’t mind that it takes a while before you find the bright spot.
The Beach: Runner-up #6
By Denis Carrier
Simple, elegant and graphic. I like that it’s summer from the point of view of the sun and even the sea is casting a shadow.
The Beach: Runner-up #7
By Olga Gessen
We can all relate to this…When all is said and done, it’s how most of our summer will be spent. :( :(
The Beach: Runner-up #8
By Sean O’Neill
A cute gag, but more of a cartoon than a cover. One tattoo used to be something to notice, but now you’d only notice the full body treatment.
The Beach: Runner-up #9
By Oliver Weiss
Very classic, understated and elegant New Yorker cover. What works so well is that you have to read the message in the sand. It’s not simply a man walking his dog — I like that each creature is traveling on its own path.
The Beach: Runner-up #10
By RAG
This image took us a while to parse but we like that it forces you to look to twice. You have to tell yourself what you’re looking at in order to see it, but you wind up in a ray of sunshine so it’s worth it.
The Beach: Runner-up #11
By Helkarava
It’s a layered gag - the joys of swimming in the ocean are tempered with reminders of pollution and our own anxieties.
Behind the scenes atThe New Yorker with art editor