Award in Excellence Timothy Batten

Sunday Afternoon © Timothy Batten Shamong, New Jersey $1,000 Age 18

Sunday Afternoon , oil on canvas (30" x 38") "Each piece I create shows the freedom of people, the freedom they have to experience, and my freedom to create and show that experience, that moment." Timothy Batten, who is legally blind, is able to accomplish his artwork through the use of dark contacts and biocular glasses. "I find it ironic that I am legally blind, but I am still very much a visually artistic person. I really don't look at myself as having a disability." He was encouraged to practice art by his uncle and grandfather, who are both professional artists. Timothy prefers using a variety of media to achieve different feelings. "Instead of having my work focus on the individual person, I wanted to use the people in the painting as an artistic device that could be used to help create a moment," says Timothy. Moving the viewer through the picture plane, he attempts to capture them within a moment of observation, where they are unable to look away. Timothy is a freshman at The School of Visual Arts in New York where he is majoring in computer animation.