Remember high school art class? "Paint your own portrait," the art teacher challenged. Days of agony, wondering how we could make ourselves look good, or even human! Most of us handed in our version of the Saturday Evening Post cover with Norman Rockwell looking in a mirror, painting himself. Fast forward to one of the most prestigious portrait competitions in the country, Hawai'i's Schaefer Portrait Challenge. For the third triennial exhibition, 56 portraits, by established and aspiring artists, were juried from hundreds of entries. Looking for more than a good grade, these artists compete for a $15,000 Juror's Choice Award.

Organized by the Maui Arts & Cultural Center, this will be the first time the exhibition has traveled from Maui. Fifteen of the artists painted themselves. The others painted heroes in their lives. "The artists pushed the boundaries of painting," says Inger Tully, curator of exhibitions for The Contemporary Museum, as she calls attention to Charlie Lyon's portrait of the famous surfer Bob "Ole" Olson painted on an actual surfboard. "The artists were encouraged to go beyond traditional techniques." Tully was there for the first competition in 2003. She was a juror for the second and brought this third show to The Contemporary Museum's First Hawaiian Center gallery.

Lana'i painter and gallery owner Mike Carroll is one of a select few Hawai'i artists who have been accepted to each of the three challenge competitions. "The subjects of the portraits I have entered are really the unsung heroes of my world," he says. The first was a 40-year veteran teacher in the Lana'i school, the second a Good Samaritan who tended the cemetery after he buried a son. "This time, I followed Alberta De Jetley around her farm. She grows everything. I call her the 'busy bee' of Lana'i." Carroll says that his farmer-hero grows so many types of bananas that the University of Hawai'i considers her an expert. "She leaves the blossom on the plant for the bees, so they can make honey for her hives," he says, suggesting you take a close look over the farmer's shoulder.

The artists' personal narratives that accompany each portrait tell the story of surfers, farmers and the girl next door. Known for his abstract paintings, Alan Leitner painted his wife and says he never expected that being objective was barely possible. At the Schaefer Portrait Challenge, expect the unexpected with portraits on wood, plaster, bronze and — of course — "Ole" Olson on a surfboard.