NORTHBOROUGH – A drawing by Algonquin Regional High School sophomore Deven Bullard will hang in the US Capitol Building for a year after winning best of show in this year’s Congressional Art Awards Competition.
Each year, a student’s artwork from each congressional district is selected by panels of district artists to hang in the Capitol’s Cannon Tunnel. Bullard’s drawing will represent the 2nd Congressional District of Massachusetts.
“When my teacher came to me to say that she wanted me to put a piece into the competition I didn’t really think that I was going to win anything,” Bullard recently told the Community Advocate.
“Winning an award and that award being best in show is really cool and exciting,” she continued, though.
Bullard explained that her teacher, Rebecca Duffy, had given an assignment for students to use blue ballpoint pens to draw facial features in self-portraits.
Bullard took a picture of her face with her mask on and printed it out. Then, she did a pencil sketch before using the pens to draw in different areas.
“I started with the mask and then I went to the eyes and the reflection, and slowly just added depth into the piece,” Bullard said.
Bullard chose to submit the self-portrait to the Congressional Art Awards Competition.
When Bullard learned she had won, she then went to Shrewsbury High School where she got to see all of the other art that had been entered. She received a certificate and was congratulated by Rep. Jim McGovern.
Bullard said that she has always had an interest in art and grew up with many artistic family members.
“I’ve sort of been surrounded by art and creativity,” Bullard said. “Throughout my life I’ve always loved drawing, and recently I realized that was really something that I wanted to get into and keep going with in my life.”
Now honored for this art project, Bullard has also won plane tickets to visit Washington, D.C. in June, when she will be able to attend a reception and see her drawing in the Capitol Building.
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