MonthlyArtContest.com Taps Judge for Inaugural Contest

CHARLOTTE, NC, April 02, 2011 (Press-News.org) MonthlyArtContest.com has signed noted portrait and abstract artist Kevin Geary to judge its inaugural contest which begins on April 1st. MonthlyArtContest.com is a site for artists of all skill levels to display their work, gain exposure, and compete on a monthly basis for cash awards. The site will be up and running by April 1 and the deadline for the first contest is April 25th.

Kevin Geary was born in 1952 in Lincoln, England, to Irish parents whose ancestries in Cork and Waterford span centuries. At the age of 13, he won an award of excellence from the Royal Drawing Society in England. He studied Anatomy and Colour Theory at the Royal Academy in London, as well as having private instruction under the late Professor Carel Weight, R.A.., who became something of a mentor to the artist. At the age of 19, Geary was the political cartoonist for the Financial Times. At age 20, Geary had his first solo exhibition at the King's Gallery in London. Since the artist's first one-man show in 1972, he has had over seventy exhibitions in Europe as well as the U.S.

For over thirty years Kevin Geary has received international acclaim for his commissioned portraits, which have depicted such prominent subjects as Pope John Paul II, Dr. Henry Kissinger, Golda Meir, Sen. John McCain, Leonard Bernstein, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, and Placido Domingo, among many others. Works by Kevin Geary are included in the collections of several major museums, including the Primary Collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London, and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. In 2004, Geary stopped accepting regular portrait commissions to concentrate on his abstract paintings, which have been acquired by many major private collectors in Ireland, England, continental Europe, Japan and the US. Geary's works have sold at Christie's in London, Whyte's Auctions in Dublin and Doyle, New York. Geary's work can be seen at http://www.kevingearyart.com

"MonthlyArtContest.com is privileged and honored to have Kevin as the judge of our first competition" said Rob Penland one of the organizers of the site. "He brings a great amount of credibility to the competition and we couldn't be happier that he has agreed to be a judge".

Artists must go to http://www.monthlyartcontest.com and register to participate in the competitions.