We launch this year's Cheshire Life Young Artist competition

Could you be the Cheshire Life Young Artist of the Year? This month we launch our 2013 competition to encourage local teenage artists.

Last year we launched the competition for the first time and our judging panel of art professionals were impressed by the standard of entries and the variety of styles submitted.

The winner was talented sculptor Jamie Hammill, aged 18, from Macclesfield. His sculpture of a torso and suspended heart was described as ‘truly impressive, a work or great technical merit’.

A painting by Ella Schultz of Cheadle and a sculpture by Alexander Reade of Altrincham earned second and third places respectively.

Head judge Malcolm Croft, from Bramhall, a renowned painter of lively landscapes and vivid still lifes is hoping this year’s competition will once again encourage teenagers who are new to art, as well as those already confident of their artistic ability.

He said: ‘It’s fascinating to see what sort of work the budding artists of the next generation are making and we, the judges, hope to see work in many forms, be it watercolours, oils, acrylics, sculpture or collage.’

The winner and four runners-up will be invited to a prize-giving reception in the autumn and each will receive a gift voucher for art materials. The winners’ works will be photographed and featured in Cheshire Life.

Please note the age restrictions: all entrants must be aged 13 years or over, yet under 19, on August 31st 2013. This year there are two age categories: 13-15 and 16 to under 19.

Along with Malcolm Croft, the judging panel comprises local art experts and gallery owners Wendy Levy, Martin Heaps and Bill Clark.

How to enter

Entrants must be 13 years or over, yet under 19 on August 31st 2013. Entrants should take their finished work of art (with their full name, date of birth, full address and contact telephone numbers) to any of the participating local galleries by the closing date of Saturday September 7th 2013.

However, the galleries are unable to accept the entries before Thursday August 1st 2013. We will publish the addresses of the galleries taking part in the June, July and August issues of Cheshire Life.

Entrants can submit a maximum of three pieces of work.