The school House Art Competition was adjudicated on 16th January by Fr Simon and Josie Eastwood of Josie Eastwood Fine Art. There were between eight and 30 finalists in each of the six categories, so narrowing down nearly 300 entries was already a difficult judging challenge for Mrs Maw, Head of Art!

Years 4 to 8 were asked to produce pieces on the theme of 'Farleigh' in different media - mono printing, pointillism, mosaics, paintings inspired by Monet, and lino cuts. A final category of ‘self-entries’ comprised pupils who entered something entirely different from the rest of their year group, a notable example being the skirt and bodice made out of newspaper. Not forgetting the Farleigh theme, the bodice was block printed with the Farleigh tree.

Commenting on the standard of the art on display, Josie said, “I very much enjoyed judging the Farleigh art prizes. It was not an easy task given the consistently high standard of work and the great variety. It is good to see that each child is encouraged to develop and to find their own style. The winning pieces showed not only talent, but originality, and importantly also, ‘soul’. We could have awarded many more prizes, so it was a tough task. As ever, Farleigh’s Art Department is a flourishing hive of creativity and extraordinarily good work.”

Jo Maw, herself an artist, added, “I am so pleased that every child entered the Art Competition; I so enjoyed seeing how they interpreted the brief in their own way and put their emotions and personalities into the pieces.”

Josie Eastwood, who is a parent of three former Farleigh pupils, has over 30 years’ experience working in the art world through building and establishing her own business but also through time spent working alongside two major dealers in London and at Sotheby's auction house. In addition, her academic background in History of Art but also as a painter gives her the fluency to work closely with both artists and patrons. Josie Eastwood Fine Art has been established since 1991 and is one of Hampshire's leading contemporary private art galleries. The new gallery in Longstock stages five exhibitions a year with a mixed programme of contemporary painting, ceramics and sculpture, celebrating and supporting both established and emerging artists.

 (www.josieeastwood.com)