Mingus Union High School seniors Nicholas Osborn and Asher McFarland recently won first and second place, respectively, for the 2nd Congressional district in the Congressional Art Competition, sponsored by the U.S. House of Representatives. U.S. Rep. Eli Crane[R-District 2] presented the awards at the Phippen Museum in Prescott. Osborn, who wants to become a biologist, described his winning piece, “Looking Forward,” as a depiction of an eagle inspired by a trip to Sitka, Alaska.
“Over here; you see an eagle and it’s this crazy thing; over there in Alaska there’s just so many eagles everywhere, and the views I saw with them sweeping in the background really inspired me,” Osborn said, adding that he wanted the beauty of nature to come across in the piece. He said that he appreciated taking first place in his final year in the competition, which he had entered all four years he was in high school. “I think in every art show that we enter, I think we are really big players around the county and around this general area,” Osborn said. “It feels great that it’s going to be in that big of a place up in Washington, it’s just funny to think that it’s there amongst all the other winners from all the other states.”
Osborn’s piece will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for the next year and Osborn will attend the national awards banquet in Washington, D.C. McFarland said that his piece “A Day in the Life of a Fridge” emphasized realism with a prominent depiction of Osborn’s face and hands.
“I basically have been drawing my entire life, stuff like doodles on the back of home-work and stuff like that, but I think I really got into it when my parents really encouraged me and helped me get art supplies,” McFarland said. “I feel proud of myself and of Nicholas and I think Mingus does a lot of amazing things every year for the Congressional art show and other things. We have a lot of really great art teachers.” Sarah Meyer, a student from Prescott High School, won third place for “Desert Beauty,” and Anna Murphy, a student from Trinity Christian School, received an honorable mention for “Majestic Long Horn Ram.”
The People’s Choice Award went to Harmony Shaw, a student from Williams High School, for “The Storm Will Pass.” The judges for the awards are either art teachers or artists, who visit the museum and assess each piece individually. After reviewing the artwork separately, they meet to determine the winning entries. This year’s judges were Alison Crary, Jill Crowley and Lyn Delano.
