VICENZA, Italy -- For the second year in a row, the All Army Arts & Crafts contest awarded two first place awards to U.S. Army Garrison Vicenza community members.
Recipient of the 2008 water-base painting award is Trisha Covarrubias, whose winning piece is a watercolor drawing titled, "Always Airborne," which depicts her husband Hilario, now retired, while he served in the Army.
"I wanted to do something very different for Father's Day this past summer, for my husband," said Trisha.
"He is a proud Airborne Ranger," she noted, "and I was looking through some old pictures that we had. I saw one and thought it would make a great painting and so I did it for him, out of love."
According to Trisha, some paintings lead the artist toward completition of the work.
"I felt guided by the whole picture, and the composition was already there," explained Trisha.
This was the first time she captured her husband on canvas as part of his Army career, and the action depicted was a very meaningful time in his life.
"That's why it meant so much to both of us that we won," she said. "I was very surprised and excited. I felt like a little girl again."
"That was very special," agreed Hilario, "I had the feeling that people would like it because it speaks of the Army, it's a real picture taken from a real operation."
The other awardee in this year's awards is a teenager who entered an oil painting completed after taking one class at the art center.
"My work was entered with the title 'Abstract,'" said Leda Kreider, who took first place in the novice division.
Kreider, a high-school student here, would like to continue in the fine arts field after graduating.
"I enjoy drawing; I think it is a way to continue the research and to learn from the great past artists who lived before us," she said. "I love the Impressionism and Post-Impressionism Art Movements, but I am also fascinated by the Renaissance and the masterpieces by Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raffaello."
Her award-winning work depicts a personal idea of Africa. "The colors and the landscape abstractly communicate my idea of Africa," said Kreider. "The original title should have been 'Africa Dreamin', but then it was inserted for the contest as 'Abstract,' just because we ran out of time."
For the painting, she found inspiration in some of modern artists such as Joan Miro' and Salvador Dali'.
"I looked at some famous paintings; then I created my own composition by interpreting and re-elaborating some images," the teenager recalled. "It was a different process compared to some drawings I accomplish in my school classes where we focus on different coloring techniques, study of color and improving our accuracy."
As this was Kreider's first time competing, she was surprised to win, saying: "I was very happy to find out about this achievement. I don't draw or paint to win contests."
"Both winning artists have accomplished works that are not only enriching creations for the artistic world, but also for our community," said Giada Sheets, oil painting instructor at the Vicenza Art Center, who taught courses to both the artists.
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