The Fang & Fur Feline Art Competition Winners!
We’ve been feline pretty darn cultured here at Fang & Fur over the last 4 weeks, as the Feline Art Competition has been in full swing! Checking the inbox for new entries has been a truly joyous experience, and we’ve been blown away by the level of talent.
To give you a quick recap: the competition has 3 cat-egories: Adults, Kids 11-16 yrs, and Kids 10 years & under. Any medium could be used, as long as entries contained a feline element.
The variety of kitty artwork we received was mind blowing! There were fantastical cats, fabric cats, multi-coloured cats, a DJ cat, and even a vegetarian cat! Kitties were depicted in oils, watercolour, crayon, pencil, pastel, felt tip, polymer clay, collage, as rock sculptures, and in digital form. All up, we received almost 100 entries!
Needless to say, we didn’t envy Evie Kemp when it came to picking the winners! She is however more than qualified for the role, being a seriously talented designer and artist.
So, without further adieu, over to Evie!:
“Ok this was unbearably hard! I wish I could choose every single one as they all have their own magic and love in them. It’s such a joy to experience cats from so many different viewpoints, and I really feel that each one captured something really special. I so enjoyed studying each one, and choosing just one from each category was really quite torturous. In the end I chose based on creativity, execution and a point of difference – I think each winner captured something quite different in their pieces!”
Category 1: Adults: The winner is Frankie Bakker!
Frankie Bakker is an artist based in Little River, Canterbury. Her winning piece Balance Meow is beautifully presented on vintage wallpaper.
Evie: “I just loved the creativity and composition of this piece but what really got me was the pose and facial expression of the cat at the bottom – I thought they were completely brilliant. It felt really different to anything I’d seen, and embodied that sense of fun that cats bring to our lives with their ridiculousness. I’d really love to see this as actual printed wallpaper in fact!”
Congratulations Frankie! You’re the winner of a Fang & Fur prize pack worth over $300!
Category 2: Kids 11-16yrs: The winner is Manea Heeney!
Manea Heeney is 12 years old and goes to Diocesan School for Girls in Epsom, Auckland. Her winning entry is of her Maine Coon kitten, Ally. According to Manea: “Ally is very fluffy and playful, and she loves playing with water and playing with balls (kind of like a dog!) and so I tried to show this in the picture.” We reckon she did a stellar job!
Evie’s message to Manea: “The imagination in this piece to capture the character of a very special cat is just so charming. It made me think of what we could imagine a cat is imagining when they’re playing. I love the strong and bold lines and use of colour, and the way you’ve captured the fluffiness of that magnificent tail and ears.” You can check out more of Manea’s artwork here.
Congratulations Manea! You’re the winner of a Fang & Fur prize pack worth over $150!
Category 3: Kids 10yrs & under: The winner is Aurora Chandrasena!
Aurora Chandrasena is 6yrs old and attends Halsey Drive Primary School in Lynfield, Auckland. She has been seriously into art, craft and design since she was very young (as in, even younger than 6!). Her winning piece of a cheetah was created using chalk on coloured paper.
According to Evie: “There is such a softness in their eyes that seem to look right into ours! It totally captures the magic of the big cats, but I also love how gentle and almost vulnerable they are. The use of colour and pastels on the coloured paper is super effective and makes for a glorious piece of art.”
Congratulations Aurora! You’re the winner of a Fang & Fur prize pack worth over $150!
A huge big ‘thank you’ to everyone who entered. We honestly love every single entry!!