Teenage art prodigy Makenzy Beard reveals latest stunning artwork – herself
She’s the young Welsh artist who has taken the art world by storm – and now she’s back with a series of new paintings.
Four years after the prodigious 18-year-old Makenzy Beard burst onto the scene she has embraced and expanded on her natural talent with two exhibitions in Wales which received rave reviews.
Her art sells for thousands of pounds and she has received interest from art collectors worldwide.
She recently took to her Instagram page to post an image of her new artwork and videos of her at work in her home studio.
The new work, an application for the Artist of the Year competition is unique in that it’s a self-portrait.
Makenzy wrote: ‘Please don’t think I’m self absorbed for painting myself, @artistoftheyear requires a self-portrait submission ❤️🔥”
Her first exhibition was a direct result of the pandemic. When she was 14, she represented Wales in under-16’s hockey, but due to lockdown restrictions, she was unable to take part in her favourite sport. Instead, she looked for something else to do and tried her hand at painting in her mother’s studio. This led to her discovering her natural talent.
After her acclaimed exhibitions at Blackwater Gallery in Cardiff, her life has changed markedly. She’s is balancing a schedule of A-levels, hockey and art. She also recently competed for Wales at the Junior World Hockey Championship in Chile.
Makenzy believes that painting has helped her through all the changes in her life. She said earlier this year: “I’ll admit that my world has spun on its axis the last few months, and being able to turn to canvas has really helped me find stillness amongst the chaos. I think that when I paint, I get lost in the strokes and lose awareness of everything else that goes on in the world.”
She continued: “Achieving a sense of timelessness feels like a superpower. Something I used to be able to do. Now I have to be in bed before ten, train during lunch breaks, and avoid waking my roommate up early. I really miss painting until midnight, but despite this, I’m incredibly proud of the body of work I’ve created.”
And here is where it all started for Makenzy…
14-year-old Welsh artist goes viral with stunning painting
To view more of Makenzy’s incredible artwork follow her on Instagram
GALLERY OF MAKENZY’S PAINTINGS
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This article is very annoying because not all of us subscribe to Instagram so it is impossible to read it properly. Unusually poor quality work for this journal.
She’s talented for sure but I’ve noticed that stories appear on Nation Cymru quite regularly about her work and there are many artists in Wales that would benefit from similar exposure.