After graduation he went to the New York Academy of Art. "I spent two years getting my MFA and then went to Italy to study portrait painting at the Florence Academy of Art."

It was while Hayward was working on his MFA that he heard about the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. "My studio was next to a classroom," he said, "and I overheard my teacher talking to another teacher about applying to this prestigious portrait competition." He looked up the contest on the Internet, applied, and was accepted.

In June the NPG will fly Hayward and the other finalists to Washington, D.C., for an awards banquet, where they will finally discover their winning positions. Until then, he continues to teach at BYU and do his art.

And he still attends church every Sunday, sketchbook in hand. "I seem to pay better attention that way."

The Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2006 exhibition begins July 1 with the reopening of the National Portrait Gallery. The show will run through Feb. 18, 2007.

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E-mail: gag@desnews.com