PRESTONSBURG - The Mountain Arts Center opened a new display in the art gallery Friday featuring pencil portraits, vivid acrylic paintings and much more by Alfredo Escobar, of Berea.

Escobar is an accomplished artist and graduate of Eastern Kentucky University. His pencil portraits have gained him international and regional acclaim as an artist who is able "to capture the essence of his subjects," as one satisfied man remarked upon seeing his own portrait.

Escobar recently finished three pencil portraits of Billie Jean Osborne, Keith Caudill and Fred ("Munroe") Goble to be displayed at the MAC. In each of his pencil portraits are the names of the individuals that he is drawing incorporated into the fine lines and shades of their faces.

Escobar uses his talents to offer educational activities to students as an artist-in-residence in schools across the state. The projects he has been involved in focuses on subjects such as graphic arts in the music industry, mural paintings and folk art. One teacher involved in his program remarked, "Alfredo makes every kid an artist."

Escobar is a member of the Berea Arts Council and is a Master Artist with Very Special Arts of Kentucky. He is also a Juried Artist of the Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen. His major influences in his work as an artist and educator are Diego Rivera, professor John Dewey and Salvador Dali.

The art exhibit at the MAC opens Friday, August 6 and continues through August 30. For more information contact the Mountain Arts Center at (606) 889-9125 or www.alfredoescobar.com.