Student art wins

Gentry student wins state competition with patriotic painting

Lynn Garside, left, art teacher at Gentry High School, received an award from Dixie Grimes, president of the local V.F.W. Ladies Auxiliary, for her contributions as a teacher to the patriotic art contests held each year.
Lynn Garside, left, art teacher at Gentry High School, received an award from Dixie Grimes, president of the local V.F.W. Ladies Auxiliary, for her contributions as a teacher to the patriotic art contests held each year.

— Anthony Gil, of Gentry, was awarded a $250 check last week for winning the V.F.W. Young American Creative Patriotic Art Contest at the state level with a painting he entered in the local contest last March.

Nine students from Lynn Garside’s Gentry High School art class entered their art pieces in the contest, sponsored by the Ladies Auxiliary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, Levi Douthit Post 1674.

The paintings were judged locally on March 7. Judges criteria included the theme, “The Love of Our Veterans and Country”; presentation; patriotism expressed; originality; clarity of ideas; design; total impact of work; and uniqueness. Judging the local entries were Cristen Smartt, Wendy Marney, Posy Summers and Terrie Metz.

The art pieces were displayed in the V.F.W. Post at Siloam Springs and judged by four veterans as well - Steve Milbourn, Thomas Sullivan, James Dickey and Frank Lee. Both groups of judges agreed on the winners.

Four winners were selected: First Place, Anthony Gil; Second Place, Valerie Rose-Reading; and Third Place, a tie between Baokou Vang and MaKayla Wilks.

The four winning pieces from the local ladies auxiliary went on to be judged at the district level and Gil’s painting was sent on to the state level, where he took first place as well, with the winning piece then being forwarded on for national judging.

Gil’s painting did not win top honors at the national level but he received an award, presented by Ladies Auxiliary president Dixie Grimes, for winning at the state level.

"My painting is very representative of the patriotic spirit," Gil wrote. "The prominence of the flag in the middle distance shows that our country’s citizens always have the worth of our country to us in their minds. It is blowing in the wind symbolizing the fact that the United States of America is always changing, yet the standard remains unchanged. The sunset behind the picture was to symbolizethe 'closing of a day' for this country to a new day where we will no longer need to send our men and women off to do the morbid deeds that war requires. The field of dry grass is for the multitudes of Americans who lost loved ones in wars past, left dry and withered, yet not alone on our own soil. The river is the tears of not only the mourning of families, but also the mourning of fellow comrades who were there to see the monstrosities that death in combat brings. The constitution wrapped around the flagpole shows that we are a nation of great laws that encompass our spirit but do not limit or suppress it. The cliffs with an opening show that there is always a way for oursoldiers to get through a seemingly undoable task. The eagle, the symbol of the United States in its entirety, the freedom it exhibits as it soars wherever it sees fit and without a worry of lock and key, is carrying the Medal of Honor. The medal of honor, recognizably the highest honor any citizen can achieve, is shining to show our gratitude for all the heroes and heroines who gave their lives for the betterment of this great nation, the United States of America."

A certificate of recognition was also presented last week by Grimes to Lynn Garside, honoring her for her creative contribution to our national heritage through the expression of art in years 2008 through 2012.

Community News, Pages 3 on 10/26/2011