VISHANNA PHAGOO
The world consumes art on a daily basis without even knowing it. For example, driving past a billboard or even glancing at the graffiti on the walls.
Eleven-year-old Adriel Ghany wants to add to that and make a name for himself in the art world. He has been doing so by participating in as many art competitions as possible, and recalled his first time gaining exposure for his art at the Maritime Art Sea competition in 2020. He placed third in his age group and won a people's choice award.
His winning piece was of a turtle swimming to the surface with varying shades of blue and black to show the depth, other sea creatures and where the turtle is swimming to, and despite not being able to keep the piece, the pride remains.
Adriel has also created pieces for other competitions like the Heritage is Me competition hosted by the National Trust of TT and those hosted by his former primary school, Raghunanan Road Government Primary, Enterprise. He said he recently won the SEA Art and Creativity award at his graduation on June 15.
Adriel told Newsday Kids how he feels when he wins these competitions.
[caption id="attachment_964210" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Adriel Ghany displays a painting of a macaw on a tree at Woodford Square, Port of Spain. - SUREASH CHOLAI[/caption]
"When I win, it's very exciting. I feel elated and I thank God for allowing me these opportunity to participate in these competitions."
His favourite pieces are those of landscapes and seascapes, but his mother, Rhesa Ghany, also encourages him to paint more local animals like the macaw or the hummingbird.
Adriel has been able to capture the beauty in both these birds and more with his colour scheme and choice of background in only a couple of hours though when he wants to include extra details, the time frame goes beyond a day.
One of his pieces features is a scarlet macaw with yellow and blue detailing to replicate the actual bird, and even though he painted it perched on a tree branch with a clear blue sky behind, the macaw still gets all the attention.
Adriel's biggest inspiration has been his mother.
"Mummy always stresses over being involved in many activities so I can find the ones I'm best at."
Since he's good at art, she enrolled him with the Art by Akilah art programme at age eight and has been attending those classes every Saturday since. These classes are held at the Centre of Excellence, Macoya and even made the shift to online during the covid19 lockdowns but that never deterred him from missing a session. Adriel said along with his mother, his dad, who is graphic artist, and his art teacher, Akilah, played important roles in his developing a love for art.
He said he likes to experiment with different techniques while creating his art pieces and some techniques he has mastered are blending, dabbing and splattering with water colours. Adriel also likes to use colour pencils and charcoal with the intent of expanding his artistic skill set.
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