Art Competition Archive

Artwork by Luca Mulligan

When I was five years old, my first ambition was to become a painter. As I grew older, my interests shifted, but they were always art-related, whether I wanted to be an art teacher, a comic artist, or an illustrator, for example. I had my first opportunity to learn to paint when I was in second grade, but it was unfortunately cancelled after two sessions due to low enrollment.

My second artistic opportunity came in the ninth grade. I was overjoyed at first, but quickly became disappointed. The teacher only showed me how to trace and provided no traditional skill training. My parents were unable to afford the class fees, and I was once again forced to leave. …

Artwork by Dejona Dino

Hello, my name is Dejona, and I am an Albanian artist. Art is one of my many passions, the most important one, and I practice it with great dedication and pleasure. I have been drawing since I was seven years old, and in February of last year, I started painting too. It has taken a huge part of my daily life and routine and perhaps, part of my spiritual side. Traditional figurative art has indeed given a nuance to my lifestyle, my experience and appreciation in school, at home and in many occasions where I engage with people. As an artist though, I face many challenges, some of which come from my own thoughts and doubts. However, I have learned to accept my progress and seek further improvement every time I create a new piece.

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. …