For the third year running, The Royal Academy of Art is celebrating student artwork with their Young Artists Summer Show.

The show is a free, open submission exhibition for young artists aged 5 to 19 years studying in the UK and British Schools overseas. Each student can submit up to three pieces of artwork which are then judged by a panel of artists and art professionals. If their work is selected, it is displayed in the online exhibition. Selected pieces will also be shown at The Royal Academy of Arts.

We are delighted to announce that second year student, Oona McLeary’s submission titled ‘Glass with Ice’, an A2 acrylic painting on canvas, was selected to feature in the online exhibition. It was also selected to go on display at the Academy! The exhibition is free and runs until Sunday 8 August 2021 should you wish to visit it.

Paul Ayres, Curriculum Manager for fine art commented, "We are so proud of Oona! The academy received over 33,000 submissions in total, so to be one of the 260 pieces chosen to be displayed in the prestigious gallery is a huge achievement! Oona is a talented artist and I am sure she has a bright future ahead of her!"

Oona said, “It felt surreal when I found out that one of my paintings had been selected for the exhibition at The Royal Academy as part of the Young Artists Show. I love my artwork and am very proud of it, but it is such a strange yet exciting feeling that people, other than my family and friends, will be looking at and appreciating my art. 

When making this painting I wanted to explore colour. I painted the whole canvas a neon pink colour before painting the glass and background on top. I let patches of neon pink shine through the layers of paint to brighten the painting. Additionally, slithers of bright pink around the edges of the glass and the ice cubes grab the viewer's attention and help their eyes move around the painting.”