Get to Know the Artists of NTD's Figure Painting Competition

Next, we have NTD's International Figure Painting Competition, where the mission is to promote traditional skills of figure painting and to lead people to appreciate divinely inspired art and culture. This week, 60 finalist works are on display in New York City, and organizers have arranged various cultural activities for the participants. NTD's Flora Hua brings us the story. The finished painting is certainly beautiful in its own right, but the process of creating it can be even more engaging and satisfying to watch. The competition's committee organized a live painting event where two painters demonstrate their skills, right here at the Samangundi Club. Let's take a look. Painting here in this event, it's just beautiful. You know, all of the people that are here observing and talking with us. Nick Ennekes is a professional painter from Slovenia. He has studied at two academies of fine arts, one in Slovenia and one in Italy. He shared his insights on the significance of high-level skills for an artist. Well, if you don't know how to speak the language, you cannot write and read poetry. Sometimes people have amazing ideas, but if they don't know how to paint it or how to realize it, they won't touch people, they won't move people. Kenneth Young shared that his understanding of beauty is rooted in his faith. For me personally, what I feel is the standard of beauty, since I believe in an ultimate, all-wise, intelligent creator, who is the one that is the creator of the universe and man and everything. So the standard, there has to be some objective, high, overarching standard, and I believe it comes from the creator. My standard of beauty, it's similar to what Michelangelo said. Michelangelo said something like, but basically what an artist, he was a sculptor and a painter, strives for is for the divine. The closest he comes to the divine, that is the standard of perfection and of beauty. That's the way Michelangelo looked at it. And I think that's the way I look at it too. This is the second time Taiwanese painter Pan Liang Tai has participated in NTD's international figure painting competition. He said he agrees with the competition's mission of bringing back traditions and classical arts. NTDTV advocates a return to traditional art. Traditional art means guiding people back to the kind of grand, magnificent works we see in the world's classical masterpieces. Kathy Smith bought the painting Widow's Might about two years ago, and she was going to donate the painting to a campus. When she saw the advertisement of this competition, she had an idea. I'm a longtime subscriber of the Epoch Times and watch NTD News and American Essence magazine, so I'm familiar. That's my news source, my favorite news source. So when I saw the advertisement for it, I just passed that on to the artist and his wife and said, you should look into this. And they applied, they submitted this painting and another one too, and they were accepted and were just thrilled. We're just so honored to be here. I'm just so humbled, especially after coming here and seeing the collection of beautiful work and other amazing artists. It's really a humbling experience. Most important part for me is that I can be, in a way, a small little tiny bit of the whole mission that you have here, you know, because the mission is not just creating beautiful artwork, but it's so much more like fighting for freedom, fighting for beauty, you know, that making this world a better place through art, because I think art, in a way, has the power to speak directly with our hearts. On Thursday, the winners of different award categories will be announced, and on Friday, artists will go on a trip to New York City's Met Museum to appreciate works with the competition committee. Flora Hua, NTD News.