A schoolboy from Eraring has been named a finalist in the Young Archie competition for a portrait he drew of his late grandfather.
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Ryan Hall, 11, created the portrait of his pop, William Ryan, in graphite pencil, working off a photograph.
The artwork, entitled What's he looking at?, is now hanging in the Art Gallery of NSW.
Ten finalists from each age category are displayed at the Art Gallery of NSW and the honourable mentions at the SH Ervin Gallery.
The Young Archie competition is a junior version of the Archibald Prize judged by the Gallery's community engagement manager and a guest judge - artist Marikit Santiago, herself an Archibald Prize finalist in 2016.
It invites budding artists aged 5 to 18 to submit portraits and attracted more than 2100 entries in this year's competition.
In his notes accompanying the drawing, Ryan wrote: "I chose to draw my pop, who recently passed away, because he was a sweet and loving man and he played a gigantic part in my life. He loved his animals, we thought more than us, and when he passed he left a dent in not just mine, but also in his family's and friends' hearts."
Ryan's art teacher is Helene Ruma, of Fishing Point.
Ms Ruma said Ryan had captured the essence of his beloved pop in the portrait.
"I think the portrait shows a lot of character, and Ryan did it entirely himself," Ms Ruma said.
"He's made great use of contrast and the varied use of tone is very advanced."
A professional artist of 10 years, Ms Ruma runs the Helene Ruma Gallery and Art Supplies business, on Watkins Road.
"We run art classes for children, mainly, and also for some adults," she said.
"Ryan first started coming here last year at one of my school holiday workshops.
"He then joined my term classes - which run for eight weeks a term - and we did a lesson on portraits."
Ms Ruma said technical instruction was important for her students, but portraiture was also about capturing a person's essence.
Ms Ruma said Ryan was talented and very eager to learn.
"But whether or not he becomes an artist is irrelevant," she said.
"Art is about learning to be creative and thinking outside the box. Art is problem solving, and learning to be flexible."
And those are traits that she aims to instill in her young students to be applied in all aspects of their lives.
Young Archie winners will be announced on August 10.
To find out more about the Young Archie competition visit www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/prizes/young-archie
