Art Competition Winners

After reviewing an astounding amount of artwork, we are so proud to showcase the winners of FA2H's 2023 "Beyond the Surface" Art Competition Winners! Thank you to everyone who participated and we look forward to reviewing more amazing works next year!

1st Place

Charlie Anderson (15)

My name is Charlie Andersen, I am sixteen years old. I was born in Barrie, Ontario and moved to Calgary when I was 4. Since I can remember, I have been using art to communicate my emotions, my thoughts and my imagination. Through quarantine, I spent hours at my art table, making art of whatever popped into my head (this is probably one of the only things that kept me sane during lockdown). Like many, quarantine took a toll on my mental health. I began to make drawings and paintings of how I felt, using my creativity as an outlet for my feelings. Thanks to the help of my family, specifically my older sister, for always encouraging me to push myself in my art, I am here, creating art in hope of making others happy. I am over the moon to have won this competition, as I never thought it would have ever happened.

I decided to choose a telephone pole to represent the prompt. I have always seen telephone poles as quite beautiful objects. They are all around us, we use them every day, but no one seems to realise the complexity of their design. Not to mention, the sheer amount of power and electricity that runs through them. I wanted to demonstrate the energy that flows through the poles, and the beauty I see in them. Using bright, vibrant colours, I believe, would let others see the beauty of them too. I thought, using the cool colours on the metal would create a nice contrast with the pole itself, as well as, make a type of reflection between the metal and the sky. I really hope this painting will let people see usually unnoticed things, like a telephone poles, in a different light.

Tanuj Samaddar (17)

2nd Place

Tanuj Samaddar is an aspiring Indianartist, illustrator and designer. He started creating artworks from an early age of 2 years, such was his passion towards creativity. Over the years he continued practising art with limited guidance and resources. By the time he attained teenage hood Tanuj started achieving some big milestones in the field of Fine Arts. He started participating in many competitions at all levels ( regional, national and international) and made his mark in those competitions. By now he has amassed over 45 International awards and 75+ National Awards in the field of Fine Arts.

In this artwork I've showcased various issues of importance which are left unnoticed in our daily lives. Issues of disability and mental well-being among the youths in general are often overlooked and neglected. I've seen parents ignoring the issues of mental well-being of their children and in the long therm it takes shape of chronic depression. The issue of mental illness has been portrayed in my artwork very vividly : ( the central figure with flames engulfing the figures' head ,the young girl weeping among other representations). The problem faced by the disables ( fully and partially ) has also been expressed in my artwork. ( the blind boy [ upper left corner ] , the ill and aged woman who is being comforted by a lady with a burnt face : central position , the boy helping the man on the wheelchair etc ). The problems faced by the specially challenged people are often overlooked and this makes them feel like an unnecessary burden on this planet but it is necessary that we take a different approach and look life in their perspective. Perhaps then we would be able to have a more open minded approach to help them solve their problems as they are fully capable of overcoming the obstacles life throws at them : they are *specially* abled ! I have used vivid imageries and bright colours to capture the essence of my artwork. I hope my artwork would be able to spread a positive message to the viewers .

Charlie Anderson

Tanuj Samaddar

Honourable Mentions

Hover over these art works to see their descriptions!

61ED80BF-5A84-4629-ABB8-F93B4169219D - Nathalie Suntjens.JPG

My artwork explores the idea of television, parents, generally the media at large sending conflicting messages in the sense of telling kids to behave one way; getting good grades, obeying adults and so forth, but also pressuring kids to party, be "cool", and act as crazy and wild as they did when they were young. Yet, children are reprimanded or made to feel guilty for both being too wild and for wasting their youth by not being wild enough. In projecting these ideals, multi-dimensional humans are portrayed to be simply one thing; you cannot sleep around and also be an IB student, you cannot be on honour roll and also play sports. People can only see the nerd, the jock, the popular kids, the basket cases, and so on. I portrayed this by pasting various acts typically associated with the "bad'' kids such as smoking, facial tattoos and irritated eyes from drugs over a seemingly normal person otherwise to reflect the idea of the media projecting certain archetypes over youths.

Ocean... A world emerged in the depths of our Earth and often looked at as something dark, cold and lonely, hides vibrancy and colors, unreachable by the human eye. After visiting the Toronto Ripley's Aquarium, my perspective of the underworld changed. I never enjoyed swimming or going to the beach and was never fascinated by pictures I saw online. However this experience showed me the true beauty of sea creatures and unlocked a new interest in me. The jellyfishes caught my attention the most. The lighting and space dedicated to them, has made a very mesmarising scenery. This piece represents the unnoticed colors and beauty that may be hiding in the depth.

Nathalie S.

Elizabeth B.

BF808237-6DB9-44FD-ACC1-844F048AC4C2 - Olivia Qiao.jpeg

Human fragility is often overlooked. We usually do not know what makes a person upset; they try to hide it or we just don’t think it’s a hurtful thing. It can truly make a person feel alone: falling in space back down to earth. The person in the painting is falling with the stars; because shooting stars are seen as a sign of luck, so it is my own homage of luck to the viewer.

Olivia Q.

It’s the cat in the hole/door case seems to be covered with shades.

Wendy D.

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This is a drawing of a wild flower found in our city, it is called the Prairie Crocus. Very tiny and unnoticeable if crossed but very beautiful up close. The colors shine within the golden sun creating a light yellow glow on the edges of the flower. The fluff on the outside of this flower gives it texture and it picks up light. Though many people do not pay attention to these types of flowers, they are just as beautiful and unique!

Claire L.

1FD22616-BD5C-4F8A-B620-A3770C633399 - Demilade Akapo.jpeg

The girl holding trophies is made of porcelain, a fragile material. She is slowly cracking and on the verge of breaking apart. I drew this to portray how she tries to hold up to the expectations of those around her, but is sacrificing her mental health and well-being being while doing so. The hands that pick at the girl’s hair, clothes, and face, symbolize the nit-picky expectations that force her to attain an unrealistic, difficult lifestyle. Beyond the surface of this partially-smiling girl holding many trophies and awards, is her inner self begging to be freed of the heavy burdens of success laid upon her shoulders.

Demi A.

Over the past few years, I have developed an interest in and love for birds. Whenever I hear or see one, my mood is lifted in its presence, and I feel at ease knowing it is nearby. However, when I am with others, I notice that they do not pay much attention to the birds flying overhead or the birdsong around us, and they only notice the birds when I point them out. With this artwork, I wanted to draw attention to a small, but lively, member of our shared ecosystem. A black-capped chickadee, with its agility and constant, energetic movements, felt like the perfect challenge to try to capture in a painting.

Ariel C.

Art Competition Winners

Charlie Anderson (15)

Tanuj Samaddar (17)

Honourable Mentions

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