by Tara Quismundo
PDI
The girl from Gagalangin in Tondo, Manila, counted Leonardo da Vinci among her idols. At first, however, the shy 13-year-old spoke so softly as Mona Lisa probably would, that you had to lean closer just to hear her.
But one look at her artwork and you’ll see how Trisha Reyes’ eloquence flows through her hands, her strokes on the canvas confident and emphatic like exclamation points, her colors a spectrum of emotions from fear to hope, from sadness to joy.
Combining these skills with inspiration drawn from a recent family outing, Reyes has sent out an urgent message—and the world is taking notice.
Her “Life in the Forest†topped the 20th United Nations Environment Programme’s (Unep) global painting competition. According to Bayer, a corporate sponsor of the contest, her entry bested some 4 million other children’s paintings from 99 countries.
The freshman from St. Stephen’s High School in Manila received the award and a $2,000 cash prize at the Tunza International Children and Youth Conference held in Bandung, Indonesia, earlier this month.
Her winning work, a 15†x 20†piece rendered in oil pastel and water color, will go on exhibit around the world and will be replicated in Unep posters and calendars, Reyes said in an interview last week.
“I’m very happy but at the same time I didn’t expect (to win). Of all the entries, I was lucky to be chosen,†she told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
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