Art Contest – Teen Winners, Midsummer 2013

Below are the winners in the teenage category of the first art contest held by The Norse Mythology Blog. The theme of this premiere competition was midsummer. I’m very grateful to the judges on our panel – the wonderful UK comic book artists Richard Elson (The Mighty Thor, Journey Into Mystery) and Boo Cook (2000 AD, Judge Dredd Megazine).

Congratulations to these three talented teen artists! It’s very interesting to see how differently they approached the mythic material. If you haven’t seen them yet, you can check out the winning entries in the kids’ division by clicking here.

Note: You can click on the art to see larger versions.

FIRST PLACE
Amy Whitfield
Age 18
United Kingdom

Amy did some serious research before painting this beautiful image of the goddess Freya at midsummer. She writes that she “found lots of imagery with flowers and read that herbs and flowers picked at this time of year are supposed to be more potent and have therefore painted Freya wearing a flower crown.”

Richard Elson writes: “It’s a warm and sensitive image with a lovely back-light on the hair that dissolves into the sky, suggesting a not entirely corporeal form.”

First Place: Amy Whitfield

SECOND PLACE
Ivy Roy
Age 18
Brooklyn, Connecticut, USA

Ivy drew a unique picture containing many elements of Norse mythology. On the right is Loki. On the left are his three monstrous children, the enemies of the Norse gods: Jörmungand, Hel and Fenrir. They stand at the foot of Bifröst, the rainbow bridge that leads to Asgard. At the top of the picture, Sól drives the chariot of the sun and is pursued by the wolf Sköll.

Ivy writes that her picture portrays “the summer of their lives” before Loki betrays the gods and is bound for his treachery.

Second Place: Ivy Roy

THIRD PLACE
Zelda H.-B.
Age 13
Briar Hill, Victoria, Australia

Zelda has chosen to portray Thor on the last midsummer this world will ever see. The description she wrote of her picture is pretty intense: “The day has finally come when Asgard has fallen and the sun has finally burned out, Ragnarök! The day of ending!” Hopefully, this year’s summer solstice will be a bit more mellow.

Third Place: Zelda H.-B.

Adult winners will be announced tomorrow!