Plano Profile July 2009 : Page 58
Art contest illustrates kids’ amazing talent Ian Lai, age 4 Age 3–4 Category Winner St. Paul Christian School The judges were quite impressed with Ian’s work. Jean comments, “He obviously had a clear vision when he drew this piece; it tells a story. Technically, it is very balanced.” “And it has a lot of energy,” Suzy adds. “Even being a black and white stick figure drawing, it shows a lot of movement.” Maybe that’s because Ian has seen symphonies in action. He recently attended a Dallas Symphony Orchestra concert and he enjoys watching his parents’ DVD of the Chinese Orchestra. What is his favorite art medium when creating artwork? “Magic markers,” he says. “And pencils.” 58 PLANO PROFILE JULY 2009
Kid Art Contest
Cindy Boykin
Ian Lai, age 4 Age 3–4 Category Winner St. Paul Christian School
The judges were quite impressed with Ian’s work.
A Call For Little PicassosTo submit their favorite artwork in our Kid Art Contest resulted in an abundance of charming, clever, and surprisingly sophisticated pieces of art. We discovered that children are natural artists for many reasons, beginning with their fanciful imaginations and lack of inhibition. Cowboy boots talk, dogs climb trees, and mysterious Gypsy women sell cotton candy at carnivals. The interpretations and intriguing stories these pictures conjured could have been contemplated for days! But alas, our judges had to come to a decision, difficult as it was. After poring over each and every entry carefully— and with much delight—Plano Profile publisher and resident artist Jean Newman and ArtCentre of Plano Executive Director Suzy Jones selected first place winners in each age category, plus one exceptional overall honorable mention.
Surya Salem, age 6
Age 5–7 Category Winner • Andrews Elementary
“Amazing!” Both judges exclaim in unison.
Jean raves, “Notice how your eye has a definite track of vision. The colors, the depth, the perspective…I would be happy to have done this at any time of my life!” Suzy enthuses, “Wonderful color selection! I doubt he knew this, but purple and yellow are complementary color choices. And look at the reflections on the rocks and the water, the snow on the mountains, the blossoms…really a beautiful piece.”
And a complicated one, according to the young artist. Surya says he entered this piece in the contest because it took him a very long time to finish it and he also likes the colors. Since taking art classes for the past nine months, this is his favorite piece. We predict it will be a readers’ favorite too!
Brogan Leahey, age 9 Age 8–10 Category Winner • Home School Student
“I loved this from the first time I saw it,” Jean remarks. “When I saw the face, I was enchanted. There is something endearing about it. It looks like a loving portrait.” Appreciating the detail of the pointillism art, Suzy observes, “See how it gets darker when the dots are closer?
Great detail in this piece. It looks like an Old World woman from Poland or Russia … quite a departure from the other submissions.” Brogan explains that she drew the flower first, but continued and built a story around it. Hence the creation of “Wieslawa, a Russian girl who likes colors and flowers and nature.” Brogan created this piece during a Modern Works of Art study presented by home-school instructor April Burk.
Hayden Strong, age 7
Overall Honorable Mention • Fairhill School The orange tiger caught the judges’ eyes immediately.
“Wonderful dominance,” Jean states. “He uses three main colors that add to this bold portrayal.” Suzy points out, “This is very well depicted. Look at the V-shape of the birds and on the tiger’s tail! I just love this.” Hayden loves drawing animals. He has been to zoos all over the country, from Dallas and Fort Worth to Miami. His favorite animals to draw, besides prize-winning tigers, are snakes. That’s because he owns one!
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