Friends pupil shows artistic flair
JAMES O’Neill, a Year 13 pupil at Friends’ School, has won second place in the Senior section of the 59th Annual Texaco Children’s Art competition, an all-Ireland competition attracting up to 50,000 entries annually.
James, who is studying Biology, Chemistry, Geography and Physics at AS level, is a keen artist in his own time and was encouraged to enter the competition by the Head of the Art Department at Friends’, Ms Paula McPoland.
James writes: “I had two months to prepare before the closing date of February 22, which meant that I did not have much time. As a result, I spent many late nights painting, as, once I have started, it is difficult to stop.
“A week before the closing date, I completed what I consider to be my best work to date. Titled ‘The Royal Fisherman’, it depicts a kingfisher emerging out of the water with a small fish in its beak. I used a reference photo taken by
a friend as a basis, but I changed many things.
“I have always had a fascination with painting water, due to the subtle shapes and shades and reflections that occur, and the kingfisher was inspired by a lazy warm summer evening by the river, when a bird fished right in front of me.
“In the painting, I had wanted to capture the action of the event, the movement of the water and the bright colours of the bird. I feel I had achieved this reasonably well.
“Taking 28 hours in total, the painting is in acrylics on a 40 x 50cm stretched canvas.”
James will attend the Awards Ceremony of the prestigious competition at the end of May in Dublin.