The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
AN Ardnacrusha product design student’s prize-winning artwork has been described as ‘a short story in visual imagery’.
Dan Killackey, 18, from Ardnacrusha, was chosen overall winner of the 68th Texaco Children’s Art Competition, taking first prize in the senior 16-18 years age category.
“I was delighted to win a national award,” Dan told the Champion, “Since 2019, I have known about this competition. I wish I had known sooner because I could have competed since I was six years old. I think it would be good to promote this art competition more in schools.
“When I complete a sketch and see people’s satisfaction, it motivates me to continue doing art and get people smiling.”
Dan’s winning work, for which he receives a prize of €1,500, is entitled ‘Isolation’ and is a detailed portrait study in coloured pencils of his granduncle, Mick White, who lives in Carrig in North Tipperary.
During the winter of 2020, when Dan visited Mick he saw his cat had jumped on the kitchen table to eat a piece of food.
Realising this would make a good picture for a drawing, Dan took out his phone and snapped it.
Using markers as a base, he used coloured pencils over that.
In choosing it as overall prize winner in the competition, final adjudicator and chairman of the judging panel, Gary Granville, Professor Emeritus of Education at the National College of Art
and Design, described Dan’s piece as ‘a short story in visual imagery”.
“In his image of a man and his cat, Dan has captured so many aspects of contemporary life in Ireland. Through understated reference to some resonant icons – the discarded Covid face-covering on the table, the classic Sacred Heart image in the far corner, and the old TV set in the background, we can locate a man we all seem to know,” Professor Granville added.
His inspiration for his prize-winning portrait came to him whilst on a visit to his granduncle Mick’s home in North Tipperary.
“The cat jumped onto the table and we took a photo of it. I realised afterwards that it would make for an interesting portrait study,” Dan explained.
Mick was delighted that his portrait helped Dan win a national award.
It was his second prize in the competition having won a Special Merit Award in the 16-18 years age category in 2020 for a portrait of his grand-aunt and Mick’s sister, Margaret White (96) entitled ‘Margaret’.
“She has a very interesting face. I thought it would make a detailed picture and I wanted to show off my skills.”
Youngest of three children, Dan first discovered his passion for art in primary school. He has continued to develop his talent throughout his teens, both at Junior and Leaving Certificate level.
Dan recalled he enjoyed entering Book Fairs in Parteen National School, which provided three free books for the winner.
“All the teachers in Parteen National School were very encouraging. We had an art class once a week in school.
“I didn’t do much art outside of school in primary school. I started doing more art outside of school in Third, Fourth and Transition Year in Ard Scoil Rís. That was when I started doing art commissions. It wasn’t much of a jump for me doing commissions. I was always good at it.”
When he completed his Junior Certificate, he got his highest grade in Art. Three years later, he scooped 100% in his art project for the Leaving Certificate.
He believes it is helpful to have an eye for art to provide the necessary motivation to practise and pursue it.
Now studying product design at University of Limerick, his love of art continues to grow and he has already received a number of commissions, which he looks forward to working on over the summer months.
He enjoys completing sketches and 3-D models and recently devised an unusual design for a lamp. Having finished First Year, he is looking forward to completing the rest of this four-year course that combines engineering with product design.
He likes the idea of designing cars and general things like headsets. He posts his art on his instagram page @dansart__
