Calling all young artists. Could you be the Cheshire Life Young Artist of the Year?

This month we launch our 2015 competition to encourage local young artists under 21 to shout about their talents.

It’s a great opportunity to have your work appreciated by professional artists and gallery owners on our judging panel. The work of many entrants will be photographed and featured in Cheshire Life and on our website...and there are great prizes to be won. Anyone between the ages of 12 but under 21 can enter.

Our judging panel comprises gallery owners Bill Clark of Clark Art in Hale and Wendy Levy, whose ran her own highly acclaimed gallery in Didsbury, Cheshire Life editor Louise Taylor and Picture Editor John Cocks.

Wendy Levy said: ‘We’re really looking forward to seeing the work of the young artists out there. It always amazes us how much talent there is around the Cheshire area.’

So, whether you’re already the star of your school art department or your work has gone unnoticed, why not let our panel take a look? It’s so easy to enter. The first round of judging simply requires you to email a jpeg image of your work to us before August 31st 2015. Good luck!

How to enter

The competition is open to anyone over 12 but under 21, who is not represented by a commercial art gallery. There are two age categories: Category One - over 12 but under 17. Category Two - over 17 but under 21. Entrants in Category One must be 12 years or over, yet under 17 on August 31st 2015. Entrants in Category Two must be over 17 but under 21 on August 31st 2015.

For the first round of judging all entrants should submit a jpeg image of their work by email to letters@cheshirelife.co.uk before midnight on August 31st 2015. The subject field of the email should state ‘Entry for Young Artist 2015 competition’. The email must state which age category you are entering, the artist’s name, title of the work, the medium (ie ink, watercolour, sculpture, mosaic etc), its size (height x width) and the artist’s address, age, date of birth and telephone numbers. Entrants may submit work in any medium (excluding video).

Entrants may submit a maximum of two pieces of work (maximum size 3ftx3ft). The judges will then choose a shortlist of the 12 pieces of work they think are the best.

Cheshire Life will then contact those shortlisted artists and ask them to bring their work to our office in Daresbury at a date to be arranged. The judges will take a closer look at the shortlisted works. Judges will then make their decisions privately. The winner and runners-up will be notified by telephone and invited to an informal evening at a local gallery or hotel to receive their prizes and meet the judges. We look forward to seeing your emails