THE grandmothers of two teenage artists have proved the inspiration for portraits now being exhibited at the Art Gallery of NSW.
The works are among 20 finalists from 1015 entries in the second Young Archies competition run in conjunction with the prestigious Archibald Prize.
The girls are Bonnie Zhu, 15, of Hurstville Grove, and Angie Wu, 14 of Kingsgrove.
Entrants were charged with depicting a person special to them.
Bonnie's subject was her paternal grandmother, who lives in Shanghai.
"I have a lot of respect for her. She tells me so many things when I go to visit her. We have a strong bond," Bonnie said.
At times Bonnie had trouble understanding what her grandmother, Zhang Ya Fang, 84, was saying because of the older woman's dialect.
Bonnie took a year to complete depicting her grandmother standing in a field of lavender.
The Sydney Girls High School student is still deciding on her own career, tossing up between architecture, fine arts and medicine.
Angie Wu's close bond with her maternal grandmother began when Yee Lan minded her when she was small.
"She was with me nearly every second of the day when my parents were busy," Angie said. "She was really kind and she takes time with people."
Angie said she liked to paint portraits and landscapes.
Other finalists from the St George area are Marium El-Hajj, 11, of Arncliffe, and Claire Blayney, 15, of Mortdale.
Amy Guo, 14, of Carlton, received an honourable mention.
The Young Archie entrants are aged five to 18 and are divided into four age categories.
A winner chosen from each category will be announced September 11.
Included in prizes for each finalist is a $100 ANZ Visa gift card.
Finalists' work are on display at the Art Gallery of NSW until September 28.
