Life’s a beach for Knockavoe pupil Ryan Sweeney

A PRIZE-WINNING piece of art by a young Strabane pupil has been chosen to adorn the pages of a 2022 calendar.

Fourteen-year-old Ryan Sweeney, a year 12 student at Knockavoe School, received a Special Merit Award for his picture, entitled ‘A Beautiful Distraction’ which will be one of the lucky 12 to be featured in the new Texaco calendar for the coming year.

Explaining how it all came about is Julie O’Neill, Ryan’s art teacher at the school.

“We decided as a school to enter the Texaco Children’s Art Competition this year, our first year doing so and I got the children to work,” she said. “There was no specific remit as to what sort of pictures were needed so we just let the students run wild with their imaginations.”

What sprung from Ryan’s imagination was a paint-based beach scene, which he says was inspired by a beach in America that he visited while on holiday, featuring a ball, deckchair and a fairground on the horizon.

It was remarked by a competition adjudicator that Ryan’s picture “illustrated perfectly the outstanding talent, creativity and imagination that many of our young artists possess and the important role schools have in encouraging and inspiring their students through art education.”

Alongside the honour of having his picture in the calendar, Ryan also received an arts and hobbies set as an additional prize. Julie says that the school pride is palpable.

“We at the school are all so proud of Ryan and what he has achieved with his artwork.

“It’s lovely to get something back from the hard work put in,” she added.

The new calendars are available through a select number of Texaco service stations and Texaco branded distributors countrywide and the winning entries can also be viewed at www.texacochildrensart.com