Cyrus Afsary is known for works of art that not only capture moments in time, but create moods about people and places as well. Afsary’s love for art was evident when he was a child growing up in the Middle East. Although his father was concerned about his penchant for art, his mother encouraged his talent and he enrolled in art school at the age of fifteen. As a teenager, he was painting portraits on commission which served him well later in his career when he was invited to paint portraits of Sylvester Stallone and John Wayne’s horse, Aramis.
His search for artistic expression eventually led him to the United States and he became a citizen soon after his arrival. He earned two Bachelor of Arts degrees, one in Fine Arts and the other in Interior Design. He later visited in France and Italy where he was influenced by the great art work of the masters in European museums and galleries and by the artists Ilya Repin and Valentin Serov. This education and experience has led him, through the years, to paint a wide variety of subjects.
Afsary’s work has been featured in numerous shows and he has won a variety of awards including “Best Of Show” at the C.M. Russell Art Show and the “Exceptional Merit Award” from the National Art Club at the 1986 Pastel Society of America exhibition. From 1985-1987, he was an invited artist at the Northwest Rendezvous and in 1987 received a Merit Award and was included into membership.
Also in 1988, he was the first recipient of the Robert Lougheed Memorial Award, presented by the National Academy of Western Art. He was chosen as the official poster artist for the Amarillo Rotary Clubs Annual Art Show in 1991, also winning “Best of Oil.” In 1992, he was a participant at the Artists of America Exhibition. During his career, he has been profiled in Southwest Art, Midwest Art, Art of the West and International Fine Art Collector magazines.
His paintings are a sensitive emotional study of life and he is known for a style that is somewhat loose, though each stroke, no matter how quickly or casually applied, has great intent. Each movement of the brush defines something about the subject that, when taken as a whole, becomes much more than just a painting itself. It takes a special talent to paint the emotional connection one feels with a subject, and Afsary has it.
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