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NFA Group Artwork Competition Shortlist

Entry 1- Thought world painting by RC – 16 years old 

Inspiration/story behind the piece

“Nothing makes sense anymore and I think about this a lot!”

“It was late at night and I was unable to sleep and just wanted to create something to show how absurd and busy my thoughts can get. It’s as simple as that”.

Young person’s Story

RC has been in care for two years and before that was sectioned for six months.

“I have struggled with what I know now is PTSD, but I’ve always enjoyed drawing/painting for as long as I can remember.  I guess it’s helped me through more than anything”.

Selling price

“Open to offers”.

Entry 2 – Abstract colour drawing by RK – Year 5

Inspiration/story behind the piece

RK likes abstract colourful pictures and patterns and this was his inspiration for his art piece.

Young person’s story

RK has been at one of our schools since March this year and is a boarder. He has settled into the school routine very quickly and has made good friends.

He is known to be clever, funny and a good ‘defuser’ when arguments start. He can be very witty and funny and makes other boys laugh. He is respected by the other boys as he is bright and also has beautiful handwriting.

He is currently in the top sets for English, maths and science.

He enjoys all the trips he gets to go on in the evenings and he collects gems, fidget spinners and loom bands. He also loves Scooby Doo.

Selling price

RK would sell his artwork but only for the highest possible price. He would probably organise an auction and sell it to the highest bidder.

Entry 3 – Portrait colour drawing by BJ  – Year 4

Inspiration/story behind the piece

“During our topic lessons we had been learning about superheroes. Our superhero artist we had been studying was Andy Warhol and his pop art.”

“We explored his themes, colours, and designs, then used his iconic art piece of Marilyn Monroe as a stimuli for our own self portrait pop art.”

Young person’s story

BJ has only been at the school for one year and has flourished since joining us. He has learnt to read and write and he uses art, drawing and painting to self-regulate when he is finding things tricky. He loves to be creative and will often chose to draw, colour and doodle when he has his free time.

Selling price

BJ would be happy for someone to purchase his artwork but he is unsure how much it should be sold for.  Open to offers.

Entry 4 – Paint wash portrait by LR – Year 9

Inspiration/story behind the piece

LR enjoys experimenting with different painting and drawing techniques in her work. They really enjoy art and are currently working on a portraiture project.

Young person’s story

LR attends a school for pupils with statements identifying social, emotional and mental health difficulties. LR is a confident artist and is very keen to start GCSE Art in September.

Selling price

Not mentioned but could be open to offers.

Entry 5 – Portrait art with various materials by James – 15-years-old

Inspiration/story behind the piece

The topic in the school as the art piece was being made was ‘healthy habits – body talk’. In art lessons, our students were doing their portraits using different techniques and materials.

Firstly, they had to make a background using paints, brushes, hands etc. Then, when the artwork was ready and dried out, James had chosen what materials he wanted to use.

Young person’s story

James is a lovely young adult diagnosed with Autism since he was very little. He is a pre-verbal, gentle and quiet teenage boy. In school, he likes maths and food technology sessions most of all.

Selling price 

Open to offers.

Entry 6 – Nature paintings by pupils in Westminister class – aged between 9-11

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inspiration/story behind the piece

This term our topic is “Healthy Lifestyles”, so we thought our artwork should be based on the theme. We have been learning a lot about plants and what they need to grow; sunlight, water and fertiliser.

“Sunset” and “Night Sky” artwork highlights our pupils’ hard work on this subject. It took a total of one week for each painting to be finished, and we worked one-to-one with each pupil, which all formed part of our sensory lessons at the school.

Young person’s story

We have four boys in our class who each contributed to these paintings. They are all autistic and pre-verbal. They have been at the school for over three years and come from a wide range of backgrounds.

Selling price 

Open to offers.

Entry 7 – School facade drawing by JA – Year 11

Inspiration/story behind the piece

JA selected ‘My Surroundings’ from a variety of titles for his AQA Fine Art GCSE final exam.

Using the school as inspiration, as he has been with us for seven years, he then studied various artists as part of his prep work.

Through these trial studies, he decided that he wanted to include words in his work that meant something to him and said something about his time at the school. The piece showcases the feelings and emotions that surrounded him and created special memories for him whilst being here at school.

Young person’s story

JA is a member of the student council and is a considerate, helpful and polite young man who has been an asset to the school.

This was an emotional journey for JA (as well as staff!), as throughout his studies for his final design, it became more and more apparent just how much his time with us meant to him.

Selling price

JA would be happy for his work to be donated to the NFA as he would like the ‘memories’ of his surroundings to convey a message to all young people in care and special education to see that, with the right nurturing environment, they too can create their own special memories that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Entry 8 – Painting by CCA – Year 10

Inspiration/story behind the piece

CCA is currently studying GCSE Art.  His sustained project focuses on robotics and technology, inspired by the work of Matt Dixon.

Young person’s story

CCA attends a school for pupils with statements identifying social, emotional and mental health difficulties.

Selling price

Could be open to offers.

Entry 9 – Hand and finger painting by CB – aged 15

Inspiration/story behind the piece

The acorn represents our huge Acorn Care family.  When children come into our care a lot of the time their needs are not being fulfilled…an acorn tree needs water and sunshine to grow…we at the home aim to be that sunshine in these children’s lives to help them live happy and fulfilling lives. Our biggest goal is to make sure all their needs are met to help them grow and progress.

CB loves painting so that’s where the painting element came in, as it puts her in her happy place. The love hearts are to show the love that is shared between both staff and children.

Young person’s story

CB came from a neglectful past – since moving to the home two and a half years ago CB has developed immensely.

We are so proud of how she has come on. Her life skills and levels of independence have expanded to places we could only have dreamed of.  She is now able to write her own name and is starting to learn to read, which is something we would not have expected at this stage.

This is all because of her determination that she will never give up.  She is the brightest little star you will ever meet, and has the best sense of humour and the kindest soul.

Selling price

Could be open to offers.

Entry 10 – Roald Dahl Illustration by LF – Year 7

Inspiration/story behind the piece

The young person who has created the piece is a lovely boy. The idea behind the picture came about when, as a group, we visited the Roald Dahl illustrations exhibition. Following the visit, the task set to the class was to create a character from a text.  Each student read the same text but all pictures were so different.

Young person’s story

LF is in year 7 and he will be with us next year too. He has been registered as having autism.

Selling price

He is a keen guitarist and if he was going to sell the piece he would use the money towards purchasing a guitar.  He is open to offers.

Entry 11 – Eye drawing by KA – Year 8

Inspiration/story behind the piece

“My inspiration was Pride Week. I started drawing eyes and have been practicing with my art teacher this term. I decided to add rainbows and Pride flags to celebrate LGBTQ+.”

“Fingers crossed, as all the staff at my school have been congratulating me!”

Selling price

“I would like to keep the original as I am very pleased with it. For charity, I would sell it for a suitable donation and could also get prints done to sell too.’

Entry 12 – Ice cream clay sculpture by MC – Year 9

Inspiration/story behind the piece

MC was inspired by seeing some other student’s clay pieces which were inspired by pop art artist, Wayne Theibauld.

Young person’s story

MC has blossomed since arriving at our school. He enjoys boarding and he is very happy and settled. MC has always had an interest in joining the army, and has recently become part of the local army cadets. He also enjoys horse riding at the weekends.

Sale price

MC would be happy for someone to purchase his artwork entry for the price of £10.00.

Entry 13 – Paint splatter by DS – Year 11

Inspiration/story behind the piece

DS has recently completed his GCSE Art.  During his GCSE studies, he explored Chicano culture and imagery and was inspired by the work of Jackson Pollock.

Young person’s story

DS attends a school for pupils with statements identifying social, emotional and mental health difficulties.

Selling price

Could be open to offers.

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