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THE ART OF THE PORTRAIT

18 Annual International
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Portrait Competition Showcase

by Christine Egnoski
Congratulations to our Top 10 award winners in the 18 annual The Art of the Portrait competition. I recently interviewed these artists, asking them
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about the inspiration behind their award-winning work and their individual journey to a career in art.
William F. Draper
Grand Prize Winner
Sponsored by: Jack Richeson & Co, Signilar Art
Video, American Art Collector, Portrait Society
and Turtlewood Palette
Michael Klein
Bronx, NY
NYC Entrepreneur, oil on panel,
38 x 28" (96 x 71 cm)
My Inspiration: The subject of NYC
Entrepreneur is a dear friend of mine who does
real estate work here in the city. The idea
behind the title to the painting is that Stephen
is always busy with a bunch of different
projects and he is the perfect example of a
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21 -century entrepreneur in NYC.
My Path to Art: In my last year of high
school, I saw an American Artist magazine
and there was a John Singer Sargent portrait
on the cover, it was a life-changing moment
for me. Growing up in a small town there
were no museums to visit that would have
any master paintings, so this was the first
time in my life I was exposed to real painting.
Inside the magazine there was an article on
contemporary portrait painters, including
information on the business side of their
careers. It inspired me to pursue painting as a
full-time profession.

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