World’s Best Graphite Portraitists: MCATEER WALLACE, LEIMKUELLER, RODRIGUEZ, FINCH, LEO & JI / 2025 Art Collectors Choice Awards
Artists from 49 countries competed in the 2025 ART COLLECTORS CHOICE AWARDS. 15 international art collectors scored 50 categories of online images covering drawing, painting, sculpture, digital and photography.
The winning works will be revealed in this column one category at a time.
The ART COLLECTORS CHOICE AWARDS winners in CATEGORY 4. CHARCOAL/INK/GRAPHITE — FIGURE represent IRELAND, USA, AUSTRIA, SPAIN, SWEDEN & REPUBLIC OF KOREA.
BIO of 1st Place Winner: Jack McAteer Wallace.
I’m a portrait artist and social care practitioner from a small town in Ireland called Muff. Creativity and care are at the heart of everything I do — they’re the two things I live by. Drawing, for me, is like memory-making. Each piece becomes a moment captured, frozen in time — a reflection of both the subject and who I was while creating it. I’m currently doing a PhD in social robotics and AI, but drawing will always remain the most human and timeless form of expression. https://www.instagram.com/jackmcsart/
WINNER WEBSITES: CATEGORY 4. CHARCOAL/INK/GRAPHITE — FIGURE
1st Place JACK MCATEER WALLACE IRELAND https://www.instagram.com/jackmcsart/ “Heart Of Eternal Love” 29.7x42cm Graphite on paper.
2nd Place — Tie TATIANA LEIMKUELLER USA/AUSTRIA https://mysculptureanddrawings.tilda.ws/portfolio “Don Vito Corleone” 29x38cm Graphite on paper.
2nd Place — Tie JUAN MIGUEL RODRIGUEZ SPAIN https://www.instagram.com/jmy.maleinart?igsh=MXdoZG9oN3oyeHl1aA== “Threesome” 42x30cm Graphite on paper.
3rd Place — Tie TANYA FINCH USA https://www.facebook.com/graphite.artist.tanya.finch “I Will Save You” 9x12" Graphite on paper.
3rd Place — Tie NIKE LEO SWEDEN mayan_1@live.se “It Wasn’t Me (Homage To Internet Photo)” 30x40cm Graphite on paper.
4th Place — Tie TANYA FINCH USA https://www.facebook.com/graphite.artist.tanya.finch “You And Me” 9x12" Graphite on paper.
4th Place — Tie TATIANA LEIMKUELLER USA/AUSTRIA https://mysculptureanddrawings.tilda.ws/portfolio “Konrad Veidt. Kabinete Of Doctor Kaligari” 21x22cm Graphite on paper.
5th Place — Tie TANYA FINCH USA https://www.facebook.com/graphite.artist.tanya.finch “I See You” 9x12" Graphite on paper.
5th Place — Tie TATIANA LEIMKUELLER USA/AUSTRIA https://mysculptureanddrawings.tilda.ws/portfolio “Angelina Jolie” 25x37cm Graphite on paper.
6th Place — Tie TATIANA LEIMKUELLER USA/AUSTRIA https://mysculptureanddrawings.tilda.ws/portfolio “Pianist” 29x39cm Ink on paper.
6th Place — Tie YOOBIN JI REPUBLIC OF KOREA jiyoobin0619@gamil.com “The Bond Of Our Hearts” 38.1x50.8cm Pencil on illustration board.
See the hundreds of winning images and corresponding contact info to all the artists here:
In 2025, ART COLLECTORS CHOICE AWARDS had submissions from these 49 countries: Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Herzegovina, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, UK, Ukraine, USA, Zimbabwe.
15 international art collectors asked to score art:
Jason Stuckless — Toronto, Ontario
Kene J. Rosa — Los Angeles, California
Michael Gregg Michaud — Los Angeles, California
Alec Wilder — Los Angeles / Las Vegas / New Orleans
Eddie Dyer — Los Angeles / Las Vegas / New Orleans
Thomas Zora — Las Vegas
Ron Lundin — Naples, Florida / Chicago, Illinois / Vail, Colorado
Jay H. Brewer — Orlando, Florida
Alan McMullen — Fannettsburg, Philadelphia
Brian Townley — Waco, Texas
Aimee Unakis — Georgetown, Illinois
Jordan Wallace — Georgetown, Illinois
Carole Hatcher — Rancho Mirage, California
Jan Gold — Roseville, California
Karen Valentine — Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Mitchell Antesky — Toledo Ohio
