Sacred art contest spotlights young Catholic school artists

Superintendent Mazie McCoy, Ed.D., and Larry W. Massey Jr., president of the Scanlan Foundation and sponsor, presented the awards to the first, second and third prize winners during an art show on April 5 in the Pope Benedict XVI Hall of Cathedral High School.

Many of the entries portrayed favorite saints, such as St. Maria Goretti, St. Joan of Arc, Our Lady of Fatima and Our Lady of Guadalupe. Other artists chose more abstract or devotional themes for their artwork, such as “Within Sin” or “Infinite Love.”

“I decided to draw St. Joan of Arc because her story always stood out to me,” said Elisianna MacMurray, the eighth-grade first-place winner from Assumption Catholic School. “I painted her with a lot of bright colors because her martyrdom was a moment of happiness and clarity for her. She didn’t abandon God because she believed God would never abandon her.” 

The first-place winner in seventh grade, Sebastian Gambrill from St. Theresa Catholic School in Houston, titled his painting “Tranquility in the Darkness of Sin.” It shows Jesus as the Man of Sorrows on a canvas of expressive brush strokes in somber colors. Sadness radiates from His face and eyes with a pure white role, reminding the viewer that Jesus is the true Light in the darkness. Gambrill chose to place Jesus centrally on the canvas as an implicit statement of His centrality as the source of grace. In his artist’s statement, Sebastian shared that his “connection to the painting is that I found Jesus during a very dark and hard time for me, and He really helped me through it.”

Sixth-grade winner Cora Pond from St. Theresa Catholic School in Sugar Land said, “I have enjoyed making art since I was very little. I started art on my own, but then I worked with a teacher because I liked it so much. Acrylic paint was my first medium, but now my favorite medium is watercolor.” 

Pond’s watercolor image shows the Blessed Virgin Mary in a rose garden with luminous colors of light pink and blue emphasized by pen and ink.

One of the great blessings of the contest is a newfound confirmation for each young artist, winner and finalist alike, in the vocation as a sacred artist. 

“Winning this contest makes me think differently about my art,” said Cora Pond. “I told my mom that I wanted to start art lessons again because I now want to improve.”

Each of the nine winners was awarded a tuition voucher and a container of art supplies. Each winner’s image, along with an artist’s statement, was exhibited along with the finalists’ images to crowds of admirers. This year’s strong participation by students at Catholic schools is a good indication of a future of blessings to come through the fostering of an environment to encourage the creation of more sacred images coupled with an exhibit that supports young artists. †