Leona Primer doesn’t draw many happy little trees or happy little clouds.
But the Easton Area High School freshman loves to express herself through art.
Seeing her talent, her mother nominated her to become America’s most artistic kid. Her page is online through the contest created by Bob Ross Presents. The organization is named for the late painter who hosted “The Joy of Painting” on public television.
“Everything about her is so creative, so thoughtful,” said Leona’s mother, Easton resident Sheena Singley. “She just puts so much thought and heart and time into everything she does.”
Easton Area High School freshman Leona Primer submitted this sketch to the Bob Ross Presents America’s Most Artistic Kid contest.Courtesy of Sheena Singley
Primer’s preferred medium is sketching, although she loves to experiment with painting and other forms of artistic expression. She has a tattoo needle and has inked some brave friends. She wants to study welding at the Career Institute of Technology so she can fabricate statues out of metal.
Contestants in the Bob Ross contest must be nominated by a parent then accepted by the organizers. Entrants share images of their art online while their parents explain what art means to them. Along the way the children are invited to participate in online painting workshops with actor David Arquette, a “Joy of Painting” fan and certified Bob Ross instructor.
Bob Ross was known for his round tuft of brown curls, his crisscross method for painting landscapes and his peaceful demeanor. He died in 1995. PBS recently broadcast a series of episodes where Bob Ross devotee Nicholas Hankins completes some of Ross’s unfinished work.
The child who gets the most votes in the contest gets $20,000. That winner along with another artist chosen by Hankins will both have their work displayed at the Minnetrista Museum in Muncie, Indiana.
Check out Leona’s work and vote for her at her artistickid.org webpage. Voting ends Feb. 26.
Leona is at her best when she’s creating art, according to her mother.
“She spends hours in her room drawing and listening to music in her own world,” Singley said. “She says, ‘Art makes me feel limitless. What I can’t say I can show through my art.’”
Easton Area High School freshman Leona Primer submitted this sketch to the Bob Ross Presents America’s Most Artistic Kid contest.Courtesy of Sheena Singley