Irish Arts Review

Brave New WorldAuthor(s): Mary McAleeseSource: Irish Arts Review (2002-), Vol. 21, 50th Anniversary of the Texaco Children's ArtCompetition (2004), pp. 12-15Published by: Irish Arts ReviewStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25503151 .

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BRA

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children's art ?9?S- 2 0 0-4

/r/s/7 Arts Review presents a selection of the winning

artworks from this year's Texaco Children's Art

Competition and the An Post suite of stamps unveiled

by President Mary McAleese

2

The Texaco Children's Art Competition has traditionally yielded a bumper crop

of artistic talent. The 50th anniversary

year 2004 was no exception.

Unassuming seventeen-year-old Niamh Fanning

was thrilled when she heard that she had been cho

sen outright winner of the 50th Texaco Children's

Art Competition (Fig 1). They rang my mother just before I came home from school,' Niamh relates, 'I

was really shocked and I didn't believe her.'

A pupil at Malahide Community School, the

emerging artist, like most children, enjoyed dabbling

with paints and drawing from a very early age.

Although her Mum recalls winning a postal order

from Blaithin in the Irish Press (which ran one of our

first children's art columns), the Fannings do not lay claim to being especially artistic themselves.

Niamh has always been something of an all-rounder and never neglected her academic subjects. But her artistic tal

ent has shone through. Her prize-winning painting Down the Hill, a striking photo-realistic pastel portrait of her uncle

and cousin, displays quite exceptional ability in one so young, and has won widespread admiration. Her Texaco prize

included a 1,000 commission for the UTV Young Artist Collection, for which she chose to paint a portrait of popu

lar television personality, Gerry Kelly.

Fourteen-year-old Edgar Grunewald from Drumshambo, Co Leitrim, used a special pas

tel technique for his award-winning Pools of Reflection -

Ha'penny Bridge (Fig 2). Edgar is no

stranger to art success; indeed, he won a certificate of merit from watercolourist Frank Clarke

of'Simply Painting' at the tender age of just four years. His German-born father, Rainer Bodo

Grunewald (who is an accomplished painter) has encouraged his son's development from the

outset. Edgar spent the summer at the Manorhamilton Sculpture Centre working in bronze.

His father says that the Texaco Children's Art Competition has given a real boost to the

gifted youngster who is already setting his sights on a future career as an art teacher.

Ailish Fitzpatrick from Kilrush Community School in Co Clare created a still-life painting. Her Fish on a Dish shows considerable talent for a thirteen year old and she scooped top prize

in her category for 2004 (Fig 6). From an early age, Ailish loved playing about with pens and

markers. Ailish has entered a number of Competitions already, notably taking first place in

the Clare 6k Limerick Credit Union Chapter Arts Competition. Following her Texaco

1 NiAMH Fanning

Down the Hill 2004

pastel 61 x 78cm

(Overall winner)

2 Edgar Grunewald

Pools of Reflection

Ha'penny Bridge 2004 pastel 75 x 56cm

3 Victoria Farnan

Flowers in my Garden 2004

collage 48.5 x 60cm

3

*

a, I.

I / 9?

SPECIAL EDITION IRISH ARTS REVI E W

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President unveils new postage

stamps by Texaco Young Artists

Gire 65c

Bff??fc;?

I? 00

New

postage stamps featuring the pictures of four Texaco Children's

Art award winners were unveiled by President Mary McAleese to mark

the 50th anniversary celebrations.

An Post Chairperson Margaret McGinley and Texaco Country Chairman

Paul Martin joined President McAleese in congratulating the four young artists whose work was chosen to adorn the new stamps, issued by An Post.

Dream Catcher, a colourful illustration of a frog by Daire Lee (age eleven) of Gael Scoil na Cille, Ashbourne, Co Meath appears on a 48 cent

stamp while a 60 cent stamp features Marmalade Cat by Cian Colman (age

-I _w_

seven) of Skerries Art

School, Co Dublin.

A 65 cent stamp shows

Killeshin by Daire O'Rourke

(age thirteen) of St Mary's

Academy, Carlow and the 1

denomination features Fish

on a Dish by Ailish Fitzpatrick

(age thirteen) of Kilrush

Community School, Co Clare.

Speaking after the event,

An Post Chairperson Margaret

McGinley said that it was great honour to have President Mary McAleese

unveil the colourful new postage stamps. The President paid tribute to

the four young Texaco Children's Art Award winners: The technical skill

and vibrancy of these young artists' pictures is truly inspirational and

these stamps will be impressive ambassadors for Ireland, as they travel

far from these shores on postcards,

envelopes and parcels and as they take their place in stamp collections

the world over.'

As well as the individual stamps, a

First Day Cover ( 3.48) and a presen tation pack ( 5.00) containing back

ground information about the history of the Texaco Children's Art

Competition in Ireland may be viewed

and purchased at the Philatelic

Bureau in Dublin's GPO, online at

www.irishstamps.ie or by telephone at

(+353 1)7057400.

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success, the young artist was a special guest at the Tigh

Fili Arts Festival in Cork organised under the Eurochild

International Festival Programme 2004. Ailish read a

poem at the festival and launched an exhibition of Texaco

Children's Art which featured the top twenty-one win

ners of this year's Competition.

Fourteen-year-old Victoria Farnan, a pupil at The

Presentation Secondary School in Galway City, was

another first prize-winner in her category for her colourful

Flowers in my Garden (Fig 3). So too were Dylan McKeon

(age eight), St Mary's BNS, Haddington Road, Dublin 4

for Let Sleeping Wolves Lie (Fig 10) and Cian Keogh (age

eleven), Brushstrokes Art School, Fairview, Dublin 3 for

Head 1? (Fig 9)

The top prize-winners are, of course, only part of the

story as any perusal of the overall Texaco Children's Art

Competition awards list shows clearly. Kathy Ann

Murphy from Arklow (age eight), has been a runner-up in

the Texaco Competition on no less than three occasions,

this time for a still-life of flowers (Fig 11). Kathy Ann

attends St Michael's National School in Arklow and has

been colouring since she was just three years of age. Her

mother Sally Anne, says that her daughter was thrilled to

win her prizes, adding that meeting the President of

Ireland was the real highlight.

Thirteen-year-old Daire O'Rourke from Carlow won

a third place prize in his category for an oil pastel land

scape called Killeshin (Fig 4). He took fourth place last

year with a self-portrait and has been much encouraged by

his success to date?particularly so as his latest work was

selected as one of the four 2004 images chosen for the lat

est suite of Texaco Children's Art stamps. Daire studies

art under teacher Brigid O'Hara at St Mary's Academy,

'V

1 4 I

I K I S 11 A K T S R I! V I K W SPKCIAL EDITION

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Carlow and also attends a weekly art class with locally

based Michelle Dempsey. He is now learning how to

apply oils with his aunt Lily O'Rourke, a local painter

with the Barrow Valley Art Group.

Eleven-year-old Daire Lee, The Ward, Co Dublin was

also thrilled to see his pastel image Dream Catcher (third

in its category) chosen by An Post for a special Texaco

Children's Art commemorative stamp (Fig 7). This was

Daire's first time to enter the Texaco Children's Art

Competition and it turned out to be a double celebration,

as his nine-year-old sister Sarah also received a Special

Merit Award. Both brother and sister said the Texaco

awards presentation was 'a great day out.'

Several previous Texaco Children's Art winners have

gone on to make a big impact on the arts scene in later

#7

years. Only time will tell whether the 2004 winners list

includes names to conjure with as future art stars. But if

previous experience is any guide, the 2004 roll of honour

will do well in whatever career path they choose to follow.

One young man who is already shaping up well for

the future is fifteen-year-old Eoin O'Keeffe from Co

Wexford, a Texaco Award-winner in both 2001 and

2002. Eoin's chalk portraits made an immediate impres

sion and reveals an outstanding talent in one of the

most demanding art forms. Eoin pays particular tribute

to his Gorey Community Art School teachers Paul

Doran and Mrs McCorry. On the strength of his

Texaco Award, Eoin has since completed a special com

mission for the UTV Young Artist Collection and a

portrait of the current CEO of ChevronTexaco,

Irishman Dave O'Reilly. 122

children's art

?

Figs 4-7 selected as the An

Post commemorative stamps to mark the 50th anniversary of the Texaco Children's Art

Competition

4 Daire O'Rourke Killeshin

2004 oil/pastel 47 x 60cm

5 C?an Colman Marmalade

Cat 2004 paper-strip collage 44 x 57cm

6 Ailish Fitzpatrick Fish on a

Dish 2004 watercolour

75 x 57cm

7 Daire Lee Dream Catcher 2004 acrylic 47 x 57cm

11 8 Hannah Stevenson

Vase of Flowers 2004 acrylic 42.75 x 57cm

9 C?an Keogh

Head II2004 charcoal on

brown paper 59.5 x 49cm

10 Dylan McKeon ?er

Sleeping Wolves Lie 2004

chalk/pastel 61.5 x 49cm

11 Kathy Ann Murphy

Still life 2004 gouache 61 x 76cm

12 Mark 0'Kelly Mark

Playing 2004 collage 46.5 x 54cm

SPECIAL EDITION IRISH AR'IS REVIEW. |

15

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