Not long ago, a determined cabal of MSPA readers, quite unsolicited, leapt from the shadows and accosted me. Brazen was their skulduggery, waged in plain daylight. These rowdy toughs were not armed with whirling chains or brass knuckles or snug leather vests or sporty kerchiefs or fishnet ANYTHINGS, primarily I guess because they were not male strippers. They WERE however armed with the most daring accoutrement of all: generosity. They made a donation of $150 dollars American, a gift which came with a pretty firm stipulation. I was to use this money to. In this way, I could have my soul properly beautified as well as immortalized.

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This would be accomplished by a guy named Erial Ali, who would surely have it on authority from the celestial deities themselves which way would be optimal to set my soul aflame with rainbows and random forehead lasers, and how many shitty space dolphins would be ideal to stick up in my grill. But there was a catch, and no, that catch amazingly wasn't simply the 150 bucks it apparently requires to drop a few reduced-opacity rainbow gradations, mediocre masking effects and augmented saturation adjustments on a photo that your unemployed neighbor took of you in the back yard. The real catch was that Erial seems to demand to speak with you on the phone before he Photochops your bad high school portrait with resources mined from a Google Image Search of the Hubble Deep Field. I guess maybe to get to know your soul?

Either way, I knew this phone call was going to be intense. I actually got kind of psyched for it, for a while.

I practiced a modified form of enthusiasm, the kind that was basically genuine enough to trick his soul-sweeping lasers that scour my aura for traces of irony. I was prepared to throw out a lot of buzz phrases in a really excited way, like I was really eager to see how he would 'blitz my chakras'. I was going to say 'blitz my chakras' a lot.

I'm serious about that. It was going to be my go-to line. Like, dude, just go apeshit on those chakras. I'm not paypalling you a Benjie and a half for a bunch of weaksauce chakras. I want a chakra you can hang your hat on, WHILE you fry an egg on it, and makes you HIGH just in the amount of time it takes you to go Google whatever the fuck a chakra IS. But then I chickened out and just did the damn soul portrait myself. In the end, it wasn't really about not wanting to have a weird conversation with some strange dude in a robe.

Yeah that was a factor. But let's get real here.

I can Photoshop that guy under the table. I mean literally, I can literally make it appear as if he is squatting under a table in Photoshop. By doing the soul portrait myself, I am simply delivering a superior product to my devoted followers. I don't know what sort of rubbish Erial would have made. The fact of the matter is it would have been a costly and tedious exercise in disappointment.

You're welcome for me not putting you through that, everybody. The bonus is I get to keep the cash. Well, I just sort of decided this. I didn't really ask.

But I have a longstanding tradition of misappropriating funds donated to me by people for. I refer to such funds as 'Olive Garden Money'. I'm going to use all of this money to fund a series of trips to the Olive Garden, and I will document each visit carefully and report my findings to you.

I don't really like the Olive Garden that much, and my grave adherence to this franchise under these exceedingly precise circumstances doesn't make much sense. It's hard to explain. Maybe impossible., or at least a history with TALKING about it, which is what makes this all so maddeningly stupid. But maddeningly stupidly WONDERFUL. And sometimes, just sometimes, truly wonderful things are just downright, ball-numbingly idiotic.

While you were reading that paragraph, awful Italian music started playing in the background. But the bottom line is, this Olive Garden money was first soul money, so really my soul is financing this enterprise. My soul will be subsidising gargantuan mouthfuls of cheesy shell shaped noodles or some sort of tangy-sauced shellfish entre I wouldn't order in a billion years if left to my own devices, but I might have to if my hand is forced. I'll probably leave a signed copy of my soul portrait along with the tip. My soul is making this happen.

When you think about it, where would be without my soul? The answer is we'd all be so far up shit creek people would start naming bad smells after us. Anonymous said. @Second Anonymous: He obviously was so awesome that THE SIMS decided they needed to make all their SIMS based off of Andrew. This is only logical and can be proven through a series of mathematical equations. Now for my own opinion. Not only is the ironic terribleness a contributing factor to this ALMOST being as awesome as the Steed with puppet hair fighting the pigskin throwing brute, it's accuracy astounds me.

If you look at the circles inside of the S0ul Huss13, those are actually where the chakras are supposedly linked. Erial can go screw himself. You're better. Anonymous said.

'He never lied to anyone. The fans took it upon themselves to do this. Besides, there is still a Soul Picture so no harm done.'

I agree, it's pretty kick ass. But i gotta agree with complainy dude that if i was one of the contributors it's possible that my best laid intentions were not realized. Most likely they were, vis a vis the kick assness of andrew's photoshop skills; but i don't know, as i was not a contributor. Nor was complainy guy. Nor was andrew. Nor you, good sir. Anonymous said.

I think the portrait is cool and all and maybe all the donors are happy with the decision, but it would have been really funny to see what this crazy dude would have produced. Plus, based on Andrew's post, which is all we have to go on, it seems pretty clear that the 150 was not intended for Andrew to do a self-portrait but to have someone else produce a spontaneous, ridiculous image. Oh well, this was certainly not a contract so there's no point in complaining. But it is a little disappointing--because now we're left with two 'known' quantities: Olive Garden and AH's crazy psychedelic portraiture. I'm kind of offended at Andrews belief that he can replicate Erials work.

I mean if you look at his own soul capture, he goes from having one staff, to having two staffs! Surely the creator himself knew that if it were merely a trick of Photoshop, that might have held two staffs in the original, but no.

It is his soul that dual wields staffs. You can't do that with filters.

You can only do that by tapping the spiritual spunk juice of the cosmos. Andrews a false prophet, an Anti-Erial. You don't see me saying 'Hey I've got a pretty cool beard, what does this Jesus character have that I don't?' So yeah to summarize my comments. Believe in Jesus, for the rapture is coming. 'Oh well, this was certainly not a contract so there's no point in complaining.'

Well, that's not so certain. Certainly, a gift of money with strings attached can create a contract. Andrew says, 'They made a donation of $150 dollars American, a gift which came with a pretty firm stipulation.'

If the $150 was accepted with an implied or express agreement to the required use of the funds, then you can see the transfer as creating or contract, or just a conditional gift. In either case, when the requirement is not fulfilled, those who paid are entitled to restitution, at least. However, it's as likely as not that Andrew is just being colorful in his language. The money may well have been gifted and accepted before anyone said anything to Andrew about how he was supposed to use it.

There may still be an argument for return of the money at that point, but things become debatable, anyway. In any case, I think we can all agree that this would be a hilarious case, and that everyone should begin suing Andrew Hussie immediately, and appeal whatever decision is made to the highest court in the land. First, for the record, this guy who does soul pictures is for real and really *does* believe what he's saying. I'm not affiliated or anything, but I know this. The Chakra system has been well known all over the world and it is only over the past 500 to 1000 years or so that this idea has been forgotten here in the West.

It is real and I do a lot of work from this system - others can choose what they want to believe, but I'm putting this on the table for consideration: This is real. Secondly, if money is provided for a specific purpose in good faith and it is then re-purposed, that is breach of trust. It does not matter whether this trust was assumed or not. Trust was placed and it has been breached. Thirdly, if these donators are involved with spirituality and the Chakra system and doing this work - what the hell happened guys?

Don't you ever listen to your intuition? Follow Spirit.

You should not take a step like this unless it feels 'right'. And next time you try this let the guy know that a further donation will be forthcoming dependent on the guy going ahead with it. That's pretty much all I have to say here. Well, it would be fairer to say indistinguishable to *most* but yes, that is a fair comment. I actually didn't expect my comments to gain such a lively response, I was expecting this to either be ignored or maybe, on the offchance that someone else browses here who know about this stuff, supported.

Oh well, negative interest is still interest and I guess there are a few unasked questions here that need answering, so here goes. For those requesting sources, I'm not really prepared to type two pages of URLs and books that you're going to just ignore and be similarly negative towards. Do a Google search for Chakras, and you'll find all the information you need to get you started if you're serious about finding out more. If you're not serious about finding out more you're just gassing and will be completely ignored.:p 'Chakras are imaginary ********' That's a statement, not a question. 'I think Chakras are imaginary ********, and you're wrong to question that.' Again, a statement, not a question, and an opinion which you have no right to reinforce on me. So I'll ignore that kind of statement too, where that is your message.

'How can you tell whether or not Chakras are imaginary ********?' Now we're getting somewhere. This is the position I adopted before I knew for certain, and a good position to take. Problem: I can't feel my Chakras, or others', therefore they can't be real can they? No, that's not exactly true. If you really are serious about getting this kind of sensitivity and knowing for sure one way or another whether this is real, then you have to let go of saying 'Chakras are imaginary ********' and admit that the truth is 'I don't know if Chakras are imaginary ******** but want to find out.'

If this isn't the truth of it, and you just want to flame people who disagree with you, then don't waste time responding. Just don't, go do something you're comfortable with instead.

Once you adopt a position of wanting to find out you will gradually over time become aware of these energies that run through you and those around you. This is inevitable; in accepting that this *is* possible - if hard to believe - life will keep throwing stuff at you around this. There is an exercise that will help your awareness if you wish to do this - in the centre of your body is the Heart Chakra.

At this time every Heart Chakra on the planet acts as a portal to unlimited higher-dimensional energy (over time this Chakra will be predominant in accordance with the changes happening to the energy systems of everyone on the planet at this time). So, *think* opening your Heart Chakra and participating in that Heart Energy. I can guarantee that the changes will be immediate and profound, even if you don't have all the pieces to actually consciously experience this. You can also ask me to work on your energy if you *are* serious about finding out more.

@Targ Collective: The problem with spiritual beliefs of any sort is that they are heavily influenced by your own confirmation bias. For those unaware of the concept, confirmation bias refers to the psyche's inherent predilection towards bits of information that support existing beliefs.

Information that contradicts things that you already know is immediately regarded with skepticism, if not immediately thrown out, while new evidence to confirm your views only makes your views stronger. Let's make up a completely ridiculous example: suppose Bob thinks he has a superpower that lets him influence the state of traffic lights in his favor. When he's at a stop light, he gathers up his mental focus, thinks really hard about changing the lights, and then snaps his fingers.

The first time he does this, it works perfectly. Mere moments after he snaps his fingers, the light turns green and traffic moves forward. 'Yes, I have a superpower!' The second time, there's a gap of a few seconds between when he snaps his fingers and when the light turns green. 'Maybe it took some more effort that time,' rationalizes Bob, 'or maybe my mental energies just take some time to travel.'

Bob drives off, comfortable in his newfound ability. The third time, however, it doesn't work at all! Bob gets stuck at a long light in a busy intersection, and he thrusts out his mind and strikes at the traffic light. To no effect. 'Curious,' thinks Bob, 'I must have missed.' He tries again, yet nothing continues to happen. Bob concentrates even harder, thinking that he might need a bigger push for a longer light, and then releases it in a dazzling display of mental aptitude.

After a few more seconds, the light finally turns green. Exults Bob, driving off with a triumphant grin. Of course, Bob's viewpoint could not be further from the truth. The first time was simple coincidence: he drove up to the tail end of the light, focused, and snapped his fingers within a second of when the light was going to change anyway.

Bob ignores the tiny discrepancy and moves on. The second time, Bob stopped at a slightly longer light, then snapped his fingers within five seconds of the light's scheduled change. The third time, Bob stops at the very beginning of a long light, then tries multiple times to get the light to change. After three minutes of effort on Bob's part, the traffic light changes.

Right when it was supposed to, on its three-minute schedule. This is confirmation bias at work.

Bob wanted to believe that he was able to trigger changes in traffic lights, and so he drew (faulty) conclusions from existing observations that support his hypothesis. Plus, Bob's efforts are guaranteed to have seeming results: no matter how many times he snaps his fingers, the traffic light will eventually turn green. By rationalizing away every instance where his power didn't work exactly as he intended, Bob can provide himself with a limitless amount of faulty evidence in support of his belief. A good point Blastron. Except in my own case I have always been aware of this, completely, and during the initial phase of scepticism when I was first opening up to this it was a major concern for me.

The picture of reality I operate out of now has taken literally everything I can throw at it. I have been sceptical of these things in the past. But at this time I can focus on, say, my Third eye and *hear* it power up, *feel* that energy becoming more active in me. Then there is empathy. I can feel the emotions of others at will, wherever they are. Body language doesn't hold up if you're messaging someone who is in another country, and I do that a lot.

So, yeah, I have no doubts and was actually *creating* blocks all over the place as a part of proving this is real to myself. Now, I know this is real through a comprehensive series of tests and checks. I essentially applied the scientific method I use with everything else to spirituality. And I was surprised. I still question every new idea that comes in, even now, even if it supports what I currently believe, and it is possible - if unlikely - that I could be operating from a fundamentally different system of understanding an a weeks' time.

Being open minded works both ways, you see, it means being unafraid of entering into a constant state of flux. A lot of people find that very hard to do. If you are so sure of your supernatural abilities, I highly recommend that you contact the James Randi Educational Foundation, which maintains a one million dollar prize for the first person who can prove, under proper observing conditions, that they have a supernatural ability.

Your claim to be able to sense the emotions of others regardless of location can, if true, be easily demonstrated under observation: the researcher could introduce you to a volunteer, who will then be taken into a separate room and have a strong emotional state induced with images and sound. If you could consistently determine the emotional state of the individual in the next room, your claim would be verifiably demonstrated and you would earn a million dollars for your efforts. Nah, I'll pass. I don't *want* the million dollars, and people with abilities like mine tend to attract unwanted attention. I'd *so* be able to win that though. The thing about the scientific method is that you can't just say 'no' to an idea if you don't believe it - you have to disprove it first, and then say 'This doesn't work'!

Well, according to those learned in these matters, if you say to your Higher Self, or Spirit, that you want to find out for sure whether or not Chakras are real - and *mean* it - then you will find out a great deal about this in a year or two so long as you don't give up on the experiment. A difficult experiment to run as sincerity is a component that is required here. Belief in Chakras or Higher selves is not however required - the whole point of taking this mental stance is that you do not know and wish to find out for sure one way or another. When I ran this experiment I had an *amazing* year. And this is one you can do at home. Get back to me in a year or two after doing this maybe.;).

You have a flawed understanding of how science works. The burden of proof does not lie on the shoulders of the skeptic, but instead on the person presenting the claim. A scientist can in fact say 'no' to an idea if there is insufficient evidence to support it, and this happens all the time in the scientific community. If Bob from my earlier post publishes a paper in a respected journal on his stoplight-controlling superpowers, citing his friend who 'totally saw him do it, man' as a reference, he'd be summarily rejected for failing to produce sufficient evidence to back up his claims. Similarly, this is why we don't convict criminals on a single eyewitness: the prosecutor must satisfy the burden of proof and present enough evidence to prove the defendant's guilt. It's the 'dragon in my garage' problem put forth by Carl Sagan. I could claim that I have real live dragon in my garage that happens to be completely undetectable.

It is invisible to the naked eye, doesn't show up on thermal scanners, doesn't displace air, can dodge out of the way of paint thrown at it, and breathes invisible, heatless fire. According to all possible observation methods, the dragon doesn't exist, but I will list countless personal experiences interacting with the dragon. My friends have also seen this dragon and will tell you all about it (just ignore Jack, who says the dragon is red, not green like all the rest of us say), but of course you can't see it. Zack will even show you this wicked burn scar he got on his arm from when the dragon burned him, leaving the distinct mark of a barbeque vent! Any rational person can immediately dismiss my claims that a dragon exists in my garage based on lack of evidence.

Who would listen to a guy pointing at an empty garage and saying 'look at the dragon'? It is, in fact, my responsibility to convince others of this dragon's existence. The burden of proof lies entirely on me to produce evidence that supports my otherwise ridiculous claim. With your proposed experiment, you have stated that there is a dragon in your garage and invited us to take a look.

If we do take a look and see that there is no dragon, you can say that we weren't sincere enough in our observation, no matter how sincere we might actually have been. That sweeping generalization is in fact quite verifiably inaccurate, as I can think of several religions that force their spiritualities on others. Take the Mormons, for example, who will baptize the dead, no matter how outspoken they were against religion in general.

What about the so-called Jesus Camps, whose sole purpose is to re-educate and bully kids into 'finding God'? The religious teach their children that their religion is true from a very age, to the point where saying that the religion is false is an enormously difficult task.

If you give such a person a token choice to accept your faith into their hearts after having taught them all their lives that that faith was true, are you really offering them a choice? Regardless, I am curious as to what evidence you could possibly present to convince me of the existence of your invisible garage dragon. Go ahead, enlighten me. While I'm working on you I might as well add that the organisations you mention attempt to dominate, control or brainwash others - I do not consider such activities in the least bit spiritual, quite the opposite in fact. However, I was discussing spirituality and those who practice it, and the laws which govern what people like myself can do. These laws cannot be broken but an axe-murderer or Inquisitor can call himself 'spiritual' even when this is manifestly far from the truth.

Worth bearing in mind. Oh, good, that's what I thought you were going to try, so I didn't check my email for an hour or so to avoid solidifying the idea in my head that there were mystical energies coming at me. After all, not noticing any changes after being told to do so is like trying to actively not think about elephants.

Saying things like 'I am going to influence an emotional change in you' might cause the subject to attribute the next emotional change they experience to your influence, much like someone observing Bob the stoplight magician waving his fingers at a traffic light while chanting 'Change! Might attribute the stoplight's eventual change to Bob's doing. But, as you are probably curious, I can't really say that I can think of any changes that occurred over the last hour. I did some work, ate dinner, read the news, and listened to some music, which is about typical for my Sunday afternoons. At no point did I feel any abrupt physical sensation, emotional shift, or other indicator of a supernatural force affecting my life.

Or, in other words, your garage appears to be empty, sir. That said, I did spend the hour occasionally thinking of this discussion, wondering what evidence you might present, pondering my position, and otherwise keeping an open mind, as I am wont to do when taking a break from a discussion.

I don't think I've done anything in particular that would count as closing myself off spiritually, unless you count salami and cheddar as a spiritually corrosive experience. --- As for your second reply, spirituality is very much a term defined by the individual. A suicide bomber, convinced of the righteousness of his belief and the reward that awaits him for making the ultimate sacrifice for his cause, is a very spiritual person.

It takes a lot of faith and spirituality to give up everything you are in a violent, painful manner for an unverifiable reward that you have been promised for the afterlife. Perhaps it is your spirituality in particular that cannot be forced on others, but claiming that spirituality is a peaceful, nonintrusive concept the world over is inaccurate. Chakras are real in the same way speaking in tongues or hypnotism is real. If a person believes strongly enough that God is talking through them, they'll blabber like an idiot, and it will be a completely real experience for them. Or, if someone goes to a hypnotist expecting to be placed under hypnosis, it will work, and they'll be bawking like a chicken until Mysterio snaps his fingers. An outsider in either situation will be unaffected, assuming they don't believe. So, if you've got two people that totally believe in chakras, one of them can say, 'I'm focusing all my energy on your heart chakra; you should feel a calming sensation sweep through you.'

The other person will feel that sensation because they expect it to happen. I don't know whether this is just because of a state of mind or if there's something actually happening on the chemical level produced by the state of mind (I expect the latter). A skeptic, at any level, won't be able to feel these sensations. Even if blastron were to open his mind to the best of his abilities, he'll still doubt the power of chakras on a deeper level, and thus it won't work on him. Total belief in the fiction does produce an effect, so, in a weird way, chakras are real, to a degree. But, they're really just a demonstration of the connection between the mind and the body. They aren't invisible energy streams.

It's the burden of the intellectual to never experience these things, as one of the prerequisites is to be stupid enough to believe in them. The benefit of being an intellectual is that you don't fall for phishing scams or donate money to televangelists. I think it's great if you are able to work with your Chakras, tc! I have a Chakra workbook I 'borrowed' from a commune I was staying on, that I still haven't gotten around to investigating.

As for the skeptics, hey, that's cool too!:D Zillions of people have led normal, full, satisfied lives without bothering with a belief in chakras etc. I like to think that whatever lets someone be a little bit happier in life or more comfortable with the world, that's awesome. No one is actually ever going to know what it's like to be someone else, or to experience what someone else experiences, so what's the point in telling someone their experiences are wrong or they're mistaken, if they're not doing anything or anyone harm? I love the jewellery in the fruitbowl, beaded necklaces spilling over the side in a display of decadent richesse. I'm a little confused as to why the argument between targ and blastron seems to assume that if chakras are real then crazy soul portrait guy must be serious and doing something worthwhile, and vice versa. What crazy soul portrait guy is doing has little, if anything, to do with the ancient and perfectly valid spiritual belief systems which have a concept of chakras or similar points of energy in the body.

Crazy soul portrait guy is not a good representative of such beliefs, assuming he holds them at all. He's just doing ridiculous and terrible photoshop edits.

Hussie, this isn't about Homestuck or or cooking and I'm sorry if that upsets you. This is a plea. Please, spread the word about ACTA. ACTA is a dangerous trade agreement negotiated in secret that, already in place in some countries, already threatens the freedoms of internet users everywhere. A lot of people read your comic and look up to you, so I beg you: please, urge people to sign petitions, tell others, do whatever they can to stop this while we still can. It goes into vote soon.

It had a lot to do with nothing, but I was pleased with it. I didn't get to copy it, though. It's 6:51 & I haven't slept since noon. (Yes, that is how my sleep schedule appears to (mal)function, and no, I OUTRIGHT REFUSE to get back on topic.) Watt? You've got a problem with my parenthetical statements? Deal with it bro! I'm making this happen.

With, or with out YOU. Don't think I can? I'll show you.

I AM making this happen. And it will happen again. And it will keep happening until I am pleased with my worm *work. That is a legitimate typographical error that just happened.

Except I'm keeping it. Anyway, continuing the sentence; (even after the period) or until I pass out from desleepvation.

However, I doubt that will happen, not due to the lack of desleepvation being a thing, but because I've never 'passed out' before. That's a lot of personal stuff I just excreted onto a dead poke. A- dead sti- nope. Um, sticky horse? It worked better last time. Not that anyone reads these anyway. *glare* Weirdo.

Don't look at me like that. No, you stop. I asked first. I'm not the weirdo; you are! Wai- pleas- UGRHIIIHHGHJPLMNORSTUVWYXYZ.

Can you guys believe that?! That was my mom. Anyway, you all are reading this, right? That was a trick question.

Or was- wait, no. I have to when to draw the line. *breathe in* *push air out* sigh. _________/ ___j ~---•'''' __________ (I'm bad at straight lines) Anyway, I'll end my nonsense & leave with this: φιλοσοφία=love(Σοφία), therefore, Philosophy=love(Σοφί), right?

If not, then does the love of/for Sophie go under a different name? Τέλος (in a nice way).

This year 2,580 artists entered portraits for the BP Portrait Award - but only 53 from 87 countries were selected for the 2017 Exhibition of the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery this summer. This blog post is about those artists who have been selected to exhibit in the at the National Portrait Gallery this summer. The BP Portrait Award 2017 represents the very best in contemporary portrait painting Here are some numbers: • In terms of entries, out of the 2,580 entries from all over the world • 1,214 Entries came from the UK - England, Scotland and Wales (47%) • 1,366 Entries came from 84 other countries (53%) • 218 paintings (8.4%) of the original entries made it through to at Trinity Buoy Wharf. • The judges then reduced this number to their selection of the final 53 for the exhibition ( representing 2% of the total number of entries). Alan Coulson with his portrait painting selected for the BP Portrait Award 2017 See the names of the selected artists - organised by the country where they live at present - BELOW - plus: • links to their websites and • a short summary of their CV • some photos of the artists and/or their portraits Allocation to country takes detective work!

Where I couldn't work out a country I created a category at the end called 'unknown'. If anybody spots a mistake with a website please let me know via comment or contact me. SELECTED ARTISTS ARE INVITED to send me a copy of the image of their portrait - to feature in this blog post - along with a copy of their confirmation email. See the side column for. The Best of the Rest My commiserations to all those reading this who entered but were not selected for the exhibition • My BP 'Best of the Rest' will be published on Sunday (subject to receiving enough images of portraits) • See my blog post for my invite to those who failed to get selected for the exhibition • At the end of the post, you can find links to my posts about selected artists in previous years.

Taken together these are an excellent method for studying the type of portraiture which gets selected for this award. BP Portrait Award 2017 - Exhibiting Artists Yesterday I posted about the artists shortlisted for the prizes - see Today I must congratulate all those artists who have been selected for the exhibition. • LINKS TO THEIR WEBSITES are embedded in their names in the list below (where available). • Previous prizewinners are highlighted in red • Those previously selected for the BP have a link to previous portraits ( unless they were in those years of the very irritating exhibitor listings where you have to go through all portraits one by one from the beginning and/or there were a lot!) • For those without a website see my blog post listed on my page - Get your website sorted BEFORE you enter a juried art competition or miss out on the traffic when the names of selected artists are announced! The photos below are a mix of • portraits sent to me of work selected for this year's exhibition and • images of artists with their portraits due to being selected for previous exhibits.

AUSTRALIA (2) • (nee Siggins) - born in Ireland; studied at the Byam Shaw School in London from 1976-80; moved to Australia in 1983. Now lives and works in Sydney and is an Australian Citizen. Worked as a Fine Artist, a Creative Director and a part-time Lecturer in Design at UNSW FBE 1995-2010. She has been in the ( Australia's most prestigious art prize for portraiture by female artists) six times, with two portraits exhibited in 2014, and a three-time finalist in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize. She was and her portrait of Ken Rosewall hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.

• - will be attending the official opening with her family. Longlisted but not hung in 2015. Since 2008 she has been a finalist in over 60 national and international Art Prizes and has shown her work in 23 exhibitions across Australia and in Italy.

86 (rhyming slang for worth nix) by Janne Kearney oil on linen, 100cm x 100cm CHINA (1) • Bao Han - no website ENGLAND (25), • - Professional portrait painter. Lives in London and classically trained in Chelsea and Florence. Has already been commissioned to do a portrait for the National Portrait Gallery - see • - graduated from Brunel University in 2004 and lives and works in Bedford in the UK. Selected for the BP Portrait exhibition on three occasions. • John Burke - exhibiting at the Annual Exhibition of the RP in 2017 (I think!) • - born in Georgia and based in London. Studied art at Tbilisi Nikoladze Art College (1988-92 ) and did her Master's degree at the Tbilisi State Academy of Art (1992-97).. • - () a contemporary artist working predominantly in portraiture.

More importantly, his drawings are in my book! Foundation studies in art and design at Harrogate College of Art and Design and self-taught after that. Used to live in London and now back living in Yorkshire with his family. Previously exhibited in the BP Portrait Award 2010, 2011 and 2012 - when he won third prize in 2012. His portrait of Ritchie Culver was seen absolutely everywhere in London!

(see throwback pic below) At the top of this post is a pic of Alan earlier this year with his framed painting which has been selected for the BP Alan Coulson with Ritchie Culver in the 2012 BP Portrait Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery Robert by Estelle Day • - member of Kingston Open Studios. She did her Foundation Year in painting and sculpture at Chelsea College of Art then graduates from Oxford Brookes University with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art & French. She works from her home studio in South West London where the main focus is portrait painting. • - born in Nottinghamshire. Spent childhood in rural Shropshire. Studied art foundation at Shrewsbury College and a BA in Fine Art at Birmingham School of Art. Has worked as a commission artist for over 10 years.

Commissioned by the Kennel Club in 2013 to paint their patron, Her Majesty The Queen. Shortlisted for the biennial Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait Prize in 2015. Carol Ann Duffy (Poet Laureate) and Gillian Clarke (National Poet of Wales) by Claire Eastgate oil & mixed media on canvas, 48' x 48' • - No bio. Paints small and has exhibited in Cambridge and London. Selected for Ruth Borchard self-portrait exhibition in 2013. • - no bio on her own website.

Works and exhibits regularly in the UK. Studied illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York. Selected for BP Portrait Award in,,,, 2010 • - her website declares that she is a painter much in demand and that she has travelled thousands of miles in the last five years fulfilling commissions. Fiona Graham-Mackay with her portrait of Sir Andrew Motion in the BP Portrait Award Exhibition 2016 • - He was the London Heat Winner of Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year in 2014 and the overall winner of Artist & Artists And Illustrators Magazine Artist of the Year in 2011 and has previously been shown in BP Portrait Award in 2011 and. This is Raoof Haghighi with his self-portrait oil on canvas board 500x700mm (pictured at BP Portrait Award Exhibition 2015) • - Studied Scientific & Natural History Illustration at Blackpool & the Fylde School of Art and Design.

Specialises in portraits of wildlife, people and pets. In 2014, reached the grand final of.

Commissioned by the Royal College of Music to paint Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. Her portrait has also been selected for this year's exhibition website. Jessica by Laura QuinnHarris Oil on board, 515 x 625 mm 'Ania' by Ania Hobson Oil, beeswax impasto on canvas, 1370mm Sq • - Comes from rural Suffolk. No bio summary on her website. Studied at the Prince's Drawing School and Portraiture at the Florence Academy of Art, Italy. She made the long list for the BP Portrait in 2016 but wasn't hung. • - A London based artist, originally from Cornwall.

Winner of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Changing Faces Commission Prize 2015. Awarded the New English Art Club Drawing Scholarship 2016-17. She will also be showing drawings and paintings at upcoming exhibitions by the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and the New English Art Club. 'Tabitha Moses with Gilda. Liverpool' by Hero Johnson oil on canvas, 160cm x 100cm.

• Gary Lawrence - no website. I'm wondering if this is the Gary Lawrence who won The Jerwood Drawing Prize in 2011 with an enormous drawing done with a biro (well quite a lot of biros!) • - trained at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and Florence Academy of Art. Elected as a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in 2006. Won The Ondaatje Prize for Portraiture plus the gold medal awarded for the most distinguished painting in the Royal Society of Portraiture’s annual exhibition in 2011. Teaches at LARA in London.

• Brian Sayers - No CV or portraits online / gallery websites only. Studied at the Slade School of Art.

Selected BP Portrait Award in 2007, 2009, 2012, 2014 and • - Lived and worked in East Anglia all his life. Has painted in oils for over thirty years and paints detailed and landscapes.. His painting was featured on the exhibition website. • - Graduated with BA in fine art from Leeds University (1993). Attended courses at the Slade School of Fine Art and at the Florence Academy of Art. She is a portrait painter and sculptor working from life in oils and clay.

Also secretary of The Oxford Art Society and is a co-ordinator of the Oxford Artweeks open studio initiative • - Born in Lancashire. BFA Fine Art (2016), Oxford University.

Some impressive paintings but clearly starting out as an artist. Oddly, she's only listed by her first name in the NPG list. However, all artists need surnames and an excellent reputation before they become reduced to one name ( like Picasso)!:) I also note she uses her full name on her website and elsewhere. However, congratulations are due to Khushna for the choice of her image for the • - nominated for shortlist - see. Won 3rd Prize in 2016. The whole Sullivan family is participating in the shortlist for the prizes again this year! You can view my video interview with him on YouTube - see.

Ben and Ginnie Sullivan at the 2016 VP Portrait Awards Ceremony with baby Edith Ginnie and Edith are the subjects of the portrait shortlisted for a prize in 2017. • Richard Twose - Won 2nd Prize in 2014 the first time he entered the BP. See for my video interview Richard Twose Interview - BP Portrait Award 2014 (2nd prize) on YouTube. He used to teach art in Bristol - until he won Second Prize in this competition. He's now a full-time artist. Recent achievements include: Cultural Visions Lecture at University of Hull for Hull: UK City of Culture; 2016 Winner: RWA Open Prize; Shortlisted: Black Swan Gallery Open Award; 2015 Shortlisted: Beep International Painting Prize.

Ken Loach by Richard Twose • Antony Williams - nominated for shortlist - see FRANCE (2) • - nominated for shortlist - see • - Born in UK, lives in Provence in France. Previous BP Portrait exhibitor in 1999.

Has also exhibited portraits with the RP. Better known for his still lives and landscapes and a which started in 2004 and changed his life in 2006 after being featured in the New York Times and selling out his studio in 2 hours.

He's been so busy with PfP that this is the first BP Portrait entry since. Self-portrait by Julian Merrow Smith ISRAEL(1) • - a Belgian-Israeli painter, specialising in figurative painting from observation. She's exhibited widely and has had a number of solo exhibitions. ITALY (2) • - born in Moscow. Studied in Moscow and in Rome. Currently, lives and works in Rome • - born and lives in Milan in Italy. Studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti of Brera in Milan and later at the School of Visual Arts in New York.

Works as a freelance illustrator for many advertising companies and international publishers and magazines. Won a number of awards. His are worth a look. At End of Summer by Marco Ventura oil on panel cm 30 x 40. NEW ZEALAND (1) • - Lives/works in Auckland, New Zealand. Graduated from the AUT Bachelor of Design, in 2011 Majoring in Illustration. Various courses since that date.

He also works as. In 2014, he was the youngest artist to win the premier portrait award in New Zealand -. SCOTLAND (2) • Self-Portrait with Pear by Ross McCauley. WALES (1) • - Graduated 2003 with a BA (Hons) Fine Art, The Cardiff School of Art & Design, Wales. Initially, I was confused about this name as the only websites I can find for a person of this name are either about wall hangings or ice sculptures. However, it now seems the hangings are associated with portraits.

This portrait is of his nephew Jack. Jack by Casper White oil on zinc, 400mm x 300mm USA (6) Nikki by John Borowicz Oil on panel, 16' x 12' • - Lives and Works in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Studied painting at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Dartmouth respectively. Previously selected for BP Portrait in 2016. I remember his portrait of very well! It's the feature image for. His son also got his very own poster!

You can see the portrait selected for this year's exhibition above. © Katherine Tyrrell 2005-17 Unauthorised use or inappropriate duplication of images or text without written permission is prohibited. Copyright is reserved on all images and text generated by Katherine Tyrrell on this blog and related sites.

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