Art Competition Archive

Artwork by Shannon Huthsteiner

Long ago, I took an art history class to fulfill a general education requirement for an associate in arts degree in nursing. On the first day of class, the instructor told a story about a friend of his who had retired. The man had been a dentist for all of his working life and at the retirement party, someone asked him, “will you miss your work? The man replied, “no” every time I had to look in someone’s mouth, I cringed…I hated my job and now that I am retired, I look forward to doing what I really love…painting. Of all the classes I have taken, this was by far the most enjoyable, I can still remember the portrait of Van Eyck- with his “red turbine” at the entrance, the detail stunned me- and I remember thinking it was the most beautiful painting I had ever seen. This story has always stayed with me, whispering silently throughout my own career.

Artwork by Bhawna Arora

I am Bhawna Arora, a hobbyist oil painting female artist. Professionally, I am an Engineer & MBA graduate with 7+ yrs experience in providing Management Consulting Services to corporations as well as startups. Currently, I’m working as an Entrepreneur on my own consulting practice.

Artwork by Olga Pudelko

I am a 24 year old Belarusian National, formerly a Customs Officer, and now live in Rzeszow, Poland with my Polish husband. The first time I was inspired by art was at my university. There, I saw many different styles from Belarusian Artists. I wanted to look at those paintings and find my artwork among them. Since my childhood I had painted regularly, but until this time it was only a hobby.
I began searching for something artistic, something special for myself.

Later, living in Poland, I found that special kind of art. I’ve understood that I appreciate the Old Masters’ techniques and am striving to learn those techniques and mix them with my own style. I most enjoy painting with Egg Tempera, which I first used when learning to paint Icons, but the technique I most often paint with uses layers of Acrylic, Tempera and Oil colors. With this technique I begin with a dark background and use sandpaper to pull out the light while using the color to form the subjects of my paintings. …

Artwork by Ashley Elizabeth Burke

Hi my name is Ashley I’m 37 years old. I’m a wife, a mother, an artist. Art has always spoke to me, even as a child. I stopped drawing in my teen years because I was distracted with teenage shenanigans. However after a terrible life experience at 30 I picked up some painting supplies at a craft store and off I went at it without stopping, growing and learning. My biggest challenge is mastering color harmony, and sometimes drawing. I want to learn how to approach traditional painting the way the master painters before me has. I want to be able to catch my mistakes faster and be able to understand the value relationships quickly. Most of all I want to master dynamic compositions by using the golden ratio. …

Artwork by Mel Taylor

I am an artist from Kalgoorlie, in Western Australia. Kalgoorlie is a regional mining town 600km from Perth, Western Australia’s capital. Kalgoorlie is in one of the most isolated areas of Australia, where even buying art supplies is limited. I work out of my garage opposite beautiful native bushland. In summer it is hot! often reaching temperatures well past 40 degrees centigrade.

I love oil paints; the way they move on a canvas, how versatile they can be, and the depth they have. As anyone who paints, I am still learning and in just about every session I discover something new (often, what not to do). …

Artwork by Alyne WHiteswan

I love the Old Masters and the videos I’ve watched in the Old masters Academy. I am working towards a professional career, painting and drawing every day and learning. My work is mostly feminine archetypes and myths and fairy tales, but I moving towards something more.

I am mostly a narrative artist and recently took on a commission that is a scene from Homer’s Odyssey. It is a manly theme and I took to the anatomy books and worked hard to get the figures right, but now I wish I had the skills to make it great. It’s in the middle so I can fix it now. …