Ellie, oil, 30 x 40" (76 x 101 cm)Matteo Caloiaro

Fifth Place in Non-Commissioned, Members Only Competition
Inspiration
This painting is a portrait of a friend and former colleague, Ellie Samuelson. Ellie was a full-time instructor at Ringling College from 1978 to 2014 and was granted Faculty Emerita status in 2014. Throughout her career, the figure has been a constant theme in her work, and now that she has retired from teaching, she continues to produce beautiful drawings at a prolific rate.  

Artistic Path
After high school, I eventually went on to attend Ringling College of Art and Design, earning my BFA in illustration in 2007. It was there that I developed a love for representational drawing and painting. Under the mentorship of my professors at Ringling, my work improved, and my tastes were broadened. I am still inspired and challenged by the work of many of my former instructors—many of whom are now my colleagues! After college I pursued a full-time career in the arts and later accepted a teaching position at my alma mater in 2010.

Canem Regina, oil, 26 x 40" (66 x 101 cm)

Grace Devito

Fourth Place Animals, Members Only Competition
Inspiration
The inspiration for this painting was my dog Maggie. She is in the habit of coming into my studio and jumping up on the daybed to watch me paint. It struck me how regal she looked and I thought, “wouldn’t it be interesting to paint her like that in a traditional way?”

Artistic Path
I went to The School of Visual Arts in New York City to study illustration and worked as a freelancer illustrator for over a decade in publishing and advertising. I started to study traditional painting techniques and eventually made the leap to portrait commissions and gallery painting.

I have been interested in art for as long as I can remember. In art school the teachers were actual working artists not full-time teachers; they shared info about projects they worked on and spoke of the ins and outs of being freelance artists. This provided a blueprint on how to go about being a professional artist.

Stephen Climpson, oil, 36 x 26" (91 x 66 cm)

Evert Ploeg

Fifth Place in Commissioned, Members Only Competition
Inspiration
I was commissioned to paint Stephen’s portrait as a 60th birthday gift from his family.  The family wanted the portrait to tell the story of the man they knew—a gentleman who was a great listener and always had a glint in his eyes. This portrait was painted completely from life sittings. I painted him during the limited COVID “lockdown orders” here in Sydney. We had around five sessions of four hours each, and I think the relaxed atmosphere during our collaboration and repeated sittings made for a simple yet striking portrait. 

Artistic Path
When I was 12, I began private art tuition classes, and after high school I was accepted into East Sydney Technical College to study dress design. During my last year, I began doing freelance illustration work for a national department store, which lead on to securing further work with advertising agencies and book publishing houses. 

It was never the case of being attracted to art, for me it was always there. Early on, I don’t think I knew what being an artist meant, I just enjoyed making things, drawing and painting. In 1997, I entered a portrait of the very popular ABC children’s characters “Bananas in Pyjamas”, into the Australia’s Archibald Portrait Prize at the AGNSW. It was considered a controversial entry and the subsequent media storm elevated my profile immensely. This was followed by winning The Archibald’s People’s Choice Prize in 1999, with a portrait of Aboriginal actress Deborah Mailman, a piece subsequently acquired by The National Portrait Gallery of Australia. With this it seemed my career in portrait painting was cemented. 

Inner Circle, oil, 24 x 30" (60 x 76 cm)

Olena Burykina

Fourth Place in Outside the Box, Members Only Competition
Inspiration
My current focus is portraiture. I seek a connection with the model that I can translate to the surface, so I often paint family and friends. The inspiration and the model for the painting was my niece in her early teenage years. I think this is a period of constant questions when you are always seeking answers through discussions in the inner circle of yourself. The painting started as a portrait that I was not satisfied with. As I attempted to save the painting and thought through observations of and conversations with my niece, it evolved into a more reflective piece. 

Artistic Path
I have been painting as long as I remember. As a child in Ukraine, I received a classical art education. I became an architect and for over a decade built a career in which I used this passion for art. I kept painting and taught children’s art classes in a private atelier in Ukraine. I moved away from architecture into teaching art to children and painting when I could, and I finally was able to focus all my time on being an artist. Moving to America in 2013, I struggled with culture shock and language, and I think this made me dive deeper into my work. Painting as much as I can, I try to use every opportunity to learn anything new—new tools, mediums, techniques— anything new at all. I try to integrate and adapt what I learn to grow as much as I can.   —