A Great Achievement

12^th January was a memorable day in my life when I appeared for one of the most prestigious competition of Kuwait. The fourth Centre Point Art Olympiad was held by the Landmark Group in JW Marriot as a part of the company’s corporate social responsibility program.  Myself with 4 more students had been chosen from FAIPS for this competition. The event included 130 students from 12 different schools from Kuwait.

There were different categories based on the age and I was in the 12-14 yrs category. I had to select one topic from the subjects which were announced on the spot. The topics were Celebrations! , My dream! , The most interesting face of my life, Importance of traffic signal and My little Planet. It was a tough decision to select the topic at the first stage. A little brain storming and I finalized the topic on Celebration. I thought of a scene on celebration in which a group of African Adivasi dancing around a fire.  I had put all my imagination and efforts to get into the celebration.

My Painting

After submission of our entries we were kept busy by the organizers with some good entertainment and delicious food. It was a treat to my eyes to see the painting of all participants which were displayed for the jury and audience.

My heart started beating once the arrangement for the prize distribution started. To my excitement, the ceremony started with my category and I closed my eyes. To my surprise I heard my name announced and I could not believe it. I was the first to receive the award in the packed house. I was extremely overwhelmed to receive the second runner up prize in my category. I received a well crafted glass trophy and Nokia E5 Mobile and a certificate of appreciation.

The winners were selected by a special jury consisting of famous Kuwaiti artists. The students were judged on the basis of their creativity, workmanship, overall impression and relevance to the topic.  

I owe my success greatly to my art teachers from FAIPS who guided me at each stages of my preparation. My special thanks to my mother who always encouraged me with new ideas. She used to accompany me and inspired me by burning the midnight oil during my late night practices. I am deeply interested in all form of art and have learned watercolor painting, oil painting, knife painting, ink painting, pencil shading, fabric painting, portrait, sketching, paper quilling and many more, so far.

Sonali Rane.