THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 8, 1994 TAG: 9406070132
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL REED, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940608 LENGTH: Medium
They proved it Memorial Day weekend by walking off with first-place awards in the second annual Chalk-the-Boardwalk-with-Art competition in both adult and children's divisions.
{REST} Wielding sticks of colored chalk each rendered 4-by-6-foot drawings based on the theme ``family fun at the beach,'' which judges deemed the best among competing drawings in each age class.
For her efforts in the adult category, 25-year-old Katy won the top cash prize of $1,000 for an untitled piece showing a mother towing four children hand-in-hand down the resort beach.
It was done in sunwashed yellows and oranges and shadowy hues of purple, green and blue.
The next day Beth, 15, a sophomore at First Colonial High School, took the $300 top cash prize for a chalk drawing of a cluster of dolphins swimming off the resort shore.
The drawing was entitled ``First Family'' and reflected her sister's contrasty style, with the use of blues, greens and yellows for a warm under-sea effect.
The sisters, two of four children of Tom and Claudie Barnes, both veteran teachers in the city school system, come by their talent naturally.
Their mother was a budding artist before she began raising three girls and a boy and teaching art to youngsters from elementary to high school age.
``I think Dad wanted Mom to do more with her drawing and painting,'' said Katy, ``but what with raising children and teaching art, she never really had a chance.''
Both Katy and Beth started early, displaying their art work at local malls and libraries, beginning in their elementary school days.
Katy is now a professional, presenting her work in mostly private shows. Occasionally she has entered the Boardwalk, Neptune and Ghent art shows. These days she is displaying her paintings at the World Trade Center in Norfolk.
Beth is still in the student art show category, but hopes someday to make a splash as a professional in her own right.
One avenue she is contemplating - after high school, of course - is cartooning and animation. On a recent trip to the MGM attraction at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., Beth became fascinated by the process by which full-length Disney animated features are produced.
``I'm considering that as a career option,'' she said.
While both sisters display unusual talent, they differ slightly in the approach. Beth likes to work in water colors, specializing in landscapes and beach scenes taken from photographs. The beach scene that won her a first last weekend was taken from an old family photo that shows her grandmother hand-in-hand with her four children on the beach. Among the tots in the photo was her own mother, Claudie.
Beth likes to create pencil drawings, but recently has become interested in painting whales, dolphins and other sea creatures.
The sisters were part of a successful second running of the chalk-the-Boardwalk competition, said April O'Brien, events coordinator for Ocean Occasions. That is the non-profit group hired by the city to organize entertainment and activities on the oceanfront each summer.
A total of 63 Boardwalk chalk artists participated, including children and adults. That figure was up considerably from last year, said O'Brien, although she doesn't remember what the exact number was last year.
by CNB