By Andy Brophy

WESTPORT–A Westport girl whose oil painting of a landscape at sunset won “Best in Show” at an art competition said creating her artwork was particularly challenging because she had to paint in a style that wasn’t her own.

Miranda Cameron, 14, said Friday in a phone interview that she was “a little bit of a perfectionist when it comes to painting” because she feels the need to continually touch up her paintings and blend colors.

But the One River School art competition, in which 1,800 works of art were submitted by students in six states, called for the students to create art in the contemporary style of New York City artist Daniel Heidkamp. In painting, that meant using bright colors, not blending paints on the canvas and using firm and visible brush strokes.

Cameron said Heidkamp’s style was “very special and unique” and difficult for her to mirror.

Heidkamp, 46, the sole juror in the art competition, reviewed 120 works of art that One River School teachers had curated from 1,800 submissions.

Heidkamp said he evaluated the students’ artwork by looking for “a sense of place,” which in paintings meant the artist had captured the mood, spirit, character and how it feels to experience a location; use of color; and the feeling the students had put into their art.

“Something different would speak to me depending on the age of the student,” he said.

In Cameron’s painting, Heidkamp said he particularly liked the abstract sky, how her painting combined realism and abstraction, her use of color, and the sky’s reflection off water. “It’s a mirror to the sky, yet painted quite differently,” he said.

Cameron’s painting, which depicted the view from a dock at her friend’s house, also has “a sense of place,” Heidkamp said.

Overall, 1,800 students at One River Schools in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Texas and Oregon created works of art, and Heidkamp selected a “Best in Show” among eight categories. Cameron’s category was painting, and she was the only student in Connecticut to win “Best in Show.”

Cameron, who attends One River School in Westport, said she was surprised her depiction of a lake and mountains at sunset had been selected “Best in Show” in her category.

“It was definitely a surprise. There were so many talented people in the area and so many people who could have won the award,” she said. “A lot of other paintings I have done I think are much better.”

Erin Champion, vice president of education at One River School, said she thought Cameron’s choice of colors in her painting “was phenomenal.”

The corals (pinks and oranges,) blues and greens in Cameron’s landscape, thicker brush strokes, and the composition of Cameron’s painting led to “a beautiful, beautiful work of art,” Champion said.

Cameron said her inspiration for creating art was “somewhat within me.”

“I never copy from a photo,” she said. “I make the photo my own and alter stuff. I usually have to have some sort of reference … It’s people’s ideas, but also how I imagine and how I create.”

“Best in Show” winners were scheduled to visit Heidkamp’s studio in New York to view his artwork, learn about the day-to-day life of a full-time artist, ask him questions and visit parts of Brooklyn that have inspired him.

“I prefer the older methods,” Heidkamp said of mediums used to create art. “I’m an old soul and like painting with brushes and canvas, but everyone is going to approach art in their own way.”

Heidkamp said he knew the founder of One River School, entrepreneur Matt Ross, and that Ross asked him to help out at the school’s inaugural art competition, which Champion said likely will be an annual event.

One River School is a visual art school open to ages 3 through adults and was founded in 2012 in Englewood, N.J. The school teaches art in a variety of mediums, including painting, drawing, mixed media, sculpture, animation, digital illustration and 3D rendering, Champion said.

While One River School’s inaugural art competition was based on Heidkamp’s style, students had “a multitude of directions they could go,” Champion said.

Cameron said her favorite medium for creating art is painting but that she occasionally expresses herself through clay and drawing. She said she didn’t have a favorite painter and has never been interested in exploring art created in the distant past.

Cameron, a One River School student since she was 7 years old, said she’s liked to draw since she was about 4 years old and that her passion for art developed at One River School. “One River has taught me so much. One River was the base for everything I’ve learned,” she said.

Cameron said she plans to enter art work in future One River School art competitions, and Champion said she’d be surprised if Cameron didn’t pursue art as a career.

Cameron said she hasn’t decided what type of career she wants to pursue and mentioned interior design, architecture and a lawyer as possibilities.

“I’m not sure if I would want to make a career out of art,” she said, but added she thought she’d always be involved in creating art.

Andy Brophy

Andy Brophy is an experienced Fairfield County journalist. Andy was a staff writer at The Connecticut Post for 10 years. He also wrote for the Norwalk Hour, Fairfield Minuteman, Fairfield Patch and weekly newspapers in Westport, Fairfield and Norwalk. When not reporting, Andy enjoys playing chess and listening to pianist Art Tatum. ^_.