Oblivious to their surroundings, they were a picture of intense concentration. More than 250 schoolchildren toiled for two hours to create a riot of colours and forms on a pleasant Sunday morning.
The end result was so rich that the judges had a tough time selecting winners of The Hindu Young World Painting Competition – 2013.
“It was difficult to choose, as each put in their best. As for the quality of the paintings, I would have preferred at least 20 prizes, not just three winners and seven consolation prizes,” Dr. Avani Rao, a judge, said.
An art piece should be intuitive, informal and playful, Dr. Rao explained. “Art teachers often want students to adhere to specific rules while drawing, but this restricts a child’s imagination. The young ones should instead be encouraged to observe, imagine and express their ideas without restrictions,” she said. Each child is a winner as the experience of participating and giving shape to his or her imagination is tough, even for an experienced artist, said Koeli Mukherjee, another judge.
“Painting is all about gaining experience and I am sure participants would go back with the richness of the task,” she observed. While each one of them was unique in its own way, there are pointers to judge a child’s painting. Children’s paintings are characterised by bold colours, exaggerated and often distorted shapes and forms and represents what they remember most in any situation.
Attempts to teach them formal methods would result in restricting their imagination at a very young age. “By assimilating these qualities and later incorporating them in their styles in a formal manner, one can become a good artist,” Dr. Rao said.
The competition was held in two categories – seniors (Classes 8 to 10) and juniors (Classes 4 to 7) and each category was given eight topics to choose from. Kendriya Vidyalaya, Begumpet students Ch. Sahithi and B. Sravya stood first and second respectively while Parashar Vemuri from Bhavans Sri Ramakrishna School took the third place in the junior category.
Ch. Pravalika from St. Claret High School, Ramagundam, Ch. Shiva Jyothi of Platinum Jubilee High School, Warangal and M. Pranathi from Army Public School, Bolarum took the first, second and third positions in the senior category.
The competition was held at Gitanjali Devashray School and was sponsored by Miot Hospitals, Amrutanjan, Dabur, Britannia, Fruitnik, LIC and Union Bank of India.
