Danielle Foote never expected to win the BSoA student art competition.

The 16-year-old CedarBridge Academy student was so certain she hadn’t that she didn’t even bother going to the show’s opening at City Hall.

It was her first art competition ever.

“I had something else to do,” she said. “I was really shocked and happy that I won.”

Eleven middle and secondary schools took part in the annual show; the winners were determined by a people’s choice ballot.

The senior win was a tie between Danielle and Mount Saint Agnes Academy’s Victoria Medeiros.

The prize was a bundle of art products donated by DNA Creative Shoppe.

Danielle drew two pieces for the show — one was a collage of celebrities and the other was of Bermuda.

She loves art and has been sketching portraits of famous people from magazines and photos for years.

“I like to draw people that I admire,” she said. “Sometimes my friends ask me to draw something for them. I just find art really fun and it gives me something to do.”

She admits she sometimes struggles with certain facial features.

“I like drawing faces because every face is different,” she said. “Everyone’s eyes or nose is different and that makes it a challenge.”

She has a personal rule — she never sketches the same person twice.

Her dream, however, is to be an architect. Since February, she has been doing a Career Pathways internship with Benevides and Associates. The programme has allowed her to get an inside look at the industry so she can be certain that architecture is really what she wants to do.

“It is challenging drawing buildings, but it is also interesting at the same time,” she said. “I would like to create buildings that are a combination of modern and old. I find it very interesting watching what they do at Benevides and Associates.”

In Bermuda, she most admires the modern glass look of Seon Place on Front Street.

The teenager hopes to study architecture at Miami University in Florida. She gets good grades in school and volunteers with St John Ambulance Bermuda.

“I go to different events with them and help with injured people,” she said. “I have been doing that since last November.”

Her parents are Tina and Allan Foote; she apparently gets her creativity from her father.

“He used to draw in school,” she said. “He doesn’t really do it anymore, but sometimes we have art competitions to see who can draw the best. I win them of course!”

Sixteen-year-old Victoria Medeiros was “blown away” to win the competition.

“I feel really encouraged by this,” she said of her win.

For years she’d dreamed of becoming an art teacher, but recently gave up the idea because she didn’t think she was good enough.

This semester she isn’t even taking art as a class.

“This really makes me feel like maybe I am good enough,” she said. “Maybe I could have a career in art.

“I did a self-portrait in the first term of school. The art teacher, Christine Capela, took that and entered it as well as two other pieces I had done. I am really grateful to her as she really encourages us.”

She also submitted a portrait of the singer Rihanna, and a landscape of the Azores in watercolour.

“I did the Azores because my whole family is from there,” she said.

Victoria said she loves art because it is fun and relaxing.

“This is the first competition I have entered,” she said. “I would definitely enter others, after this. I feel very encouraged.”

BSoA gallery director Nzingha Ming said the quality of the entries was very high.

“We saw a lot of emerging talent,” she said. “Visitors to the gallery have asked to buy some of the work. There was a lot of good work in the show.”

See www.bsoa.bm.