By Rosalie Westenskow

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but for Justin Hayward, a self-portrait turned out to be worth a thousand dollars and a free trip to Washington, D.C. - not to mention national recognition as an accomplished portraitist.

Hayward, a part-time faculty member in the Department of Visual Arts, painted a portrait of himself and his wife, "Young Marriage," which tied for fourth place in the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, the first national competition held by the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.

"Young Marriage" - based on the 15th-century painting "The Arnolfini Portrait: Giovanni Arnolfini and his Bride" by Jan van Eyck - explores the emotions connected with the beginning stages of marriage.

"The three main themes of the piece are expectation, uncertainty and sexual desire," Hayward said.

In the piece, Hayward and his wife appear side by side, hedged in by the walls of their cramped apartment in New York, where Hayward was working on his master's in painting at the New York Academy of Art at the time. Objects representing aspects of young married life, particularly the piece's three themes, surround the couple.

The Portrait Gallery chose to use "Young Marriage" as the poster child for the competition. A copy of the double portrait resides on the huge promotional banner hanging outside the gallery, enticing passer-bys to visit the exhibit, which opens July 1.

More than 4,000 artists submitted pieces to the competition, but only 51 works will be showcased in the exhibit, the premier of which coincides with the gallery's reopening to the public, following extensive renovations.

At 26-years-old, Hayward was the youngest of the competition's seven finalists; however, many Utahns fell in love with Hayward's landscape paintings long before the competition results were announced.

"We've had about six of his landscapes; one of which is a panoramic view of the Wasatch Mountains," said Anne Larsen, manager of Williams Fine Art, an art gallery in Salt Lake City. "We've had four commissions on it already."

The Wasatch landscape, which has been particularly popular among gallery visitors, depicts the local mountain chain during wintertime.

"I think people just love seeing the familiar subject matter," Larsen said.

Receiving as many commissions for paintings as Hayward has in recent months is extremely rare for a new artist, said Clayton R. Williams, owner of Williams Fine Art.

"It happened with him because he was very talented," he said. "People come in; they like the rich colors he has, [and] the excellent drawing [in the pieces]".

The gallery first saw one of Hayward's pieces in the Fall of 2005.

"We look for talent; we can see it when it comes through the door," Williams said. "People bring us paintings every day. Usually they have talent or training."

But Hayward had both, precipitating the gallery's acceptance of several of his works. And his career there seems to be heating up - the gallery is holding a show featuring Hayward's work, along with that of two other artists, on Aug. 3, 2006.

-To see more of Hayward's art, visit www.justinhaywardart.com

Copyright Brigham Young University 27 Jun 2006