Aleksandra sketches her own future

A teenager took the top prize in this years Texaco children’s art competition for her superbly executed self-portrait, My Future is Yet to be Written.

Aleksandra (Ola) Fudali, an 18-year-old student at St Brogan’s College, Bandon, Co Cork, was described by judges as one of Ireland’s most technically talented young artists.

She first came to the attention of the judges three years ago when she won second prize for her work entitled Portrait of a Girl.

Last year the Leaving Certificate student secured a special merit award for her study Mom and Me.

Aleksandra fought off competition from more than 26,000 students to take the top prize this year.

There were 2,822 entries from Cork — about 11% of all the entries received and the second highest from any county after Dublin.

Chairman of the judging panel, Declan McGonagle, described Aleksandra as “an extremely talented young artist whose eye for detail and whose skill in composition have mapped her out as one who has a very bright future in the world of art, should she choose to pursue it as a career”.

Aleksandra, the eldest of three children, moved from Poland six years ago. She hopes to study applied psychology at University College Cork.

Explaining her portrait, Aleksandra said she drew herself tearing through a piece of blank paper using a range of pencils to create light and shade effects and make it more realistic.

“It really is my future yet to be written. There is so much lying ahead of me at this particular time of my life. I have been given a chance to create a future and fill in this blank sheet — it is a new beginning for me,” she said.

Aleksandra will receive a cheque for €2,000. She will also receive an invitation to visit Japan later this year to attend an international exhibition, hosted in Tokyo by the country’s International Federation for Arts and Culture, where her portrait will be displayed.