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THE ART OF THE PORTRAIT

Fifth Place
Sponsored by: Portrait Society of America, Rosemary Brushes,
Michael Harding Art Materials and Turtlewood Palettes
First Honor Award
Jeremy Manyik Sponsored by: Portrait Society of America, SourceTek and Turtlewood Palettes
La Junta, CO
Acacia, oil on board, 16 x 16" (41 x 41 cm) Seth Haverkamp
Norris, TN
My Inspiration: The subject is my 4-year-old daughter, Acacia. House and Home, oil on linen, 32 x 24" (81 x 61 cm)
I believe I have painted her more than any other person. She is always
available, and I can pay her with gummy bears! Although she is always My Inspiration: The girl in the painting is of my 7-year-old, Penelope.
an inspiration for me, the motivation behind this particular piece was to She always does interesting hand movements and gestures as she makes
do something completely different from my previous paintings of her. her way through daily life. I wanted to try to capture that, as well as a
My goal was to simplify and create the conditions for a very narrow value hinting of childish innocence that 7 year olds possess. The birdhouse
range on the subject. This would put the emphasis on subtle changes in represents a house; they come and go. The nest is home, which is where
temperature and chroma. the heart is. The house is just a place we inhabit; the nest is where we
grow into individuals and become who we are.
My Path to Art: From the time I could hold a pencil, drawing and
creating has been the only thing I ever wanted to do. Growing up, My Path to Art: My college years consisted of two different art
I spent all my time drawing with my twin brother. Toward the end of high schools, followed by a BA in painting from a small liberal arts school
school, I started to attend the Artist of America Exhibitions in Denver. in East Tennessee. This is where I decided to abandon illustration and
There, I attended demonstrations and lectures and met artists that I had focus on realism. A few years later, I spent an amazing year at Studio
only read about. This was an introduction to a whole different art world Incamminati where I learned what actual painting was. Following that,
than the one I knew of in the rural area I lived in. That was the type of art I moved to northern Virginia and took classes with Rob Liberace. I have
I wanted to do! That ignited the fire in me to keep working and to make been painting commissioned portraits, teaching and showing through
each subsequent piece my best. galleries since 2008.

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