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TUCSON, Ariz. - Her portraits are so lifelike, you might mistake them for real photographs. These remarkable paintings light up social media every time she paints a new one.
From the court to the canvas, University of Arizona senior Erin McCloughlin brings NBA superstar Steph Curry to life in her latest painting.
While Curry has the stroke from the three point line, McCloughlin's brush strokes have become a thing of beauty for the psychological sciences major.
"I’ve always just been into art growing up as a kid. And I started painting my senior year of high school, and I do a lot of it in my free time."
She sticks to painting athletes and musicians, but nobody would blame you if you though she was drawing "GOATs." [greatest of all time] Her painting of Michael Jordan caught the attention of ESPN and a lot of eyes were on her social media.
"It was crazy. It was really crazy.. how I just paint in my bedroom, ESPN sees it, half of the world has seen it. It's actually crazy."
While many of the paintings are sold off, some of the celebrities actually end up with the works of art.
Phoenix Suns basketball player Devin Booker wound up with his portrait, which was a gift from one of the superstar's friends.
"It was so surreal. I knew he would send me a photo, but once I actually got the photo, I couldn't believe it. It was pretty crazy that he still has it," said McCloughlin.
Just like the people in the portraits, she puts in the work, too.
"My portraits usually take about 50 hours to do."
After graduation, she hopes her art is always a part of the bigger picture.
"I just hope to inspire a lot of people. Inspire a lot of artists out there. I just love sharing my art with the world, making people happy, so I just want to share it with as many people as possible."
McCloughlin plans on eventually becoming a physician's assistant while continuing to do her art on the side. She says nowadays, she has too many requests to keep up with, but some of her commissions have fetched thousands of dollars.
If you're interested in seeing more of her work, head to https://erinmcloughlinart.com and https://www.instagram.com/erinmartwork.
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