Ballyclare student’s Eurovision painting goes viral

A portrait by a Ballyclare High pupil of Victoria de Angelis, the bassist in Eurovision 2021 winning band, Maneskin, has gone viral after being shared on social media earlier this week.
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The oil painting by Year 9 student Zara Craig was uploaded to Twitter on August 2 by Lynn Smith, Special Educational Needs Coordinator at the Rashee Road school.

The artwork has attracted a lot of attention online and has been liked almost 20,000 times to date.

Zara (13) is autistic and has been supported by Lynn for two years.

Zara's oil painting of Victoria de Angelis.Zara's oil painting of Victoria de Angelis.
Zara's oil painting of Victoria de Angelis.

Speaking to the Times today (Friday), Lynn said: “Zara has always liked to draw. I’ve shared some of her pencil portraits on Twitter previously. However, this was her first time trying oil painting. She really enjoyed it and is going to continue with oil paints.

“It took just less than two weeks for her to complete it. At one stage her mum said Zara was going to throw it in the bin, but she encouraged her to keep going.

“Zara enjoys art and music and de Angelis’ recent success inspired her.

“It has been such a difficult 18 months for Zara. Her mum commented today that she is starting to see her thinking more positively about the future. It has been a great confidence boost. Zara and her family appreciate the very kind comments that have been made.

“I’d like to thank everyone for the kindness and support - it has made a huge difference to a very special, talented young girl.”

The talented Ballyclare teenager has remained dedicated to her studies throughout the pandemic.

Lynn added: “I have known Zara for a while now as her older sister Hannah is a past pupil at Ballyclare High.

“I’ve had the privilege of working with Zara in school for two years - although due to lockdown that has involved online interaction.

“Zara continued to complete school work to a very high standard, connecting with her teachers through Google Classroom. She has a classroom assistant Helen McCluggage who has a brilliant relationship with her.

“Helen supports Zara full-time in the classroom and when Zara is unable to attend school does it via phone, email and Zoom.

“Autism is a small part of Zara and we encourage her to embrace it. However, like many autistic young people, Zara finds the school environment difficult at times. Having a quiet space to self regulate in school helps.”

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