A prizewinning artwork, entered by Wicklow student Art Oakes, is one of 13 artworks selected from the archives to illustrate the 2021 Texaco Children’s Art Competition Calendar just published.
Amongst artworks drawn from the past 16 years of the Competition, Art submitted his entry entitled ‘Summer On The Beach’ in the 58th year of the Competition, held in 2012, as a pupil at Newcourt Special School, Bray.
Winning third prize in Category G, reserved for entries from young artists of all ages with special needs, his piece appears during the month of July in the Calendar where it will be seen in thousands of homes throughout Ireland during the coming year.
Commenting at the time, a Competition adjudicator said that Art’s piece was “one of a number that perfectly reflects the artistic talent and creativity that many young people in Ireland possess and the essential role schools play by encouraging and inspiring their students through art education”.
Inspired by visits to his nearby beach, Art says the idea for his work came to him from a combination of “the crunch of the stones underfoot, seagulls, blue skies and when the wind is just right, the paragliders out at sea”. Now studying College Foundation in Roslyn Park College, Art still enjoys working with colour and incorporates it often into his graphic design module.
Calendars are currently available through a select number of Texaco service stations and Texaco branded distributors countrywide and through Texoil, Valero’s own home heating oil division.
