‘He would have been proud’

PORTRAIT Cootehill teen takes second place in Texaco competition

A Cootehill teenager claimed one of the top prizes in the Texaco Children’s Art competition with a particularly special subject.

Lana Gallagher was awarded second place in the 12-13 years age category for her portrayal of her late grandfather Eddie D’Arcy.

Lana’s work is accurately described by Final Adjudicator, Professor Gary Granville as “a warm and affectionate study”.

Eddie sadly passed away in 2014, and Lana recreated a treasured family photograph taken in his greenhouse at his home in County Wicklow.

“We have photographs of Lana with her two sisters with Eddie from the same day,” explains Lana’s mother Grace. “Lana was five and she can remember the day really clearly, so it was special for her.”

Lana’s family, including her two sisters Ruby and Dinah and Eddie’s wife, her Grandmother Aggie, shared in the joy of her achievement by attending the press day, and have an awards bash to look forward to in May.

“I’m so glad that they [judges] saw the magic, because Lana has this magic of capturing the essence of the person she is drawing.

“It’s lovely her to have this connection to him and to do this for the family as well,” said Grace.

The St Aidan’s Comprehensive student used a grid to scale up the photograph to A3 and captured the portrait in Prismacolor pencils. Lana tells the Celt she is particularly pleased by his shirt design turned out. The lines of the hatch pattern darkens and fades with the strength of sunlight falling on his shoulder and the fabric’s gentle folds.

Remarkably she completed the accomplished work over one weekend.

“She really works at it,” enthused Lana’s mam Grace. “She absolutely adores portraiture. She would be passionate about doing it. She is entirely self-taught. She sometimes works from her imagination and it is just magical watching her create these faces.”

All the hard work was worth it for Lana. “I was very happy because he would have been proud,” says modest Lana of how she felt at coming second.

While she has done well in the Credit Union Art Competitions and made it through to the Community Games National Finals last year, this is her greatest success to date. It’s encouraged her to keep entering competitions, and she already has a subject in mind.

“I might do my granny this time,” she says.