Picture perfect! Charley scoops top art prize again
A 17-YEAR-OLD girl from Co. Antrim has scooped the top prize in the Texaco Children’s Art Competition – for the second year running.
Talented Charley Bell, from Methodist College Belfast, took first prize in the senior 16-to-18 age category and was named the overall winner for her painstakingly detailed portrait study in coloured pencils.
The middle child of three, Charley is from an artistic family – her older sister Carrie has won numerous Special Merit Awards in the Texaco competition, while younger brother Rory has received a Commendation.
With one year left in school, Charley believes art will play some role in her future.
She said the inspiration for her prize-winning portrait, titled ‘Anticipation’, came when she discovered a photo of an old woman, and felt the emotion in her face would be fascinating to bring to life. ‘I like working with portraits and when I saw this photo the detailed expression on the woman’s face jumped out at me immediately. I knew it would be a challenging and interesting artwork to take on,’ she said. Judging panel chair Gary Granville, professor emeritus at the National College of Art and Design, described the artwork as ‘an exceptionally wellexecuted portrait that tells of an aged serenity of a full life with a wealth of experience and wisdom.’ He added: ‘There is a subversive energy, irrepressible optimism and underlying joy in the image that belies the stereotypical portrayal of aging.’ This is the 70th year of the competition, and the youngest winner was four-year old Louth student Tadhg Traynor, from the Rainbow Club in Drogheda, for his piece ‘Dog’. James Twohig, a director at Valero Energy (Ireland) Limited – the company that markets fuel in Ireland under the Texaco brand – said: ‘Despite the many worldly attractions and devices that vie for the attention of today’s youth, it is gratifying to know many continue to show an interest in art and to demonstrate their ability in the magnificent prizewinning entries we see today.’
‘Jumped out at me immediately’