wo years old may seem a little young to pick a career. But those who know Nahshon Hollis have probably given up being surprised. For instance, few would have raised an eyebrow when he dressed up as an artist during a career day at his primary school. And to his father, O?Neil, a streak of perfectionism emerged in his son almost from birth.

Now he is ten, Nahshon?s future seems even more assured ? he won recognition at Butterfield Bank?s Grand Art Festival on May 28.

Not only did he receive an honourable mention in the Quick Art competition, he won the children?s category in the People?s Choice Award.

The honour caught the Elliot Primary School student off guard, for his talent comes with a good dose of modesty.

?When they said other names I thought I wasn?t going to win and then I was just talking and then all I heard was Nahshon Hollis for two awards,? he exclaimed.

?And the man said ?we have to recognise him?. I thought I wasn?t going to win because I was against adults ? I didn?t think that I was going to get anything.?

It was quite a feat, for the festival at the Botanical Gardens featured more than 140 art entries by artists of all ages and abilities, which were on display at the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art.

Nahshon?s love affair with drawing first showed at two, although it wasn?t until eight he discovered painting.

According to his father, Nahshon always knew he was going to be an artist.

?From two-years-old he told his teachers over at We Learn Nursery that he was going to be an artist. So when he got to primary school, he was still giving everyone pictures and he told them that he was going to be an artist as well and on career day he dressed up as an artist. We were just keeping it home and people kept saying we had to get this stuff out.?

Nahshon?s desire to excel is not limited to art. He also loves football and is an A student.

His perfectionist streak is most visible in painting, something he tries to do between one and three times a week.

?I like painting beach scenes and mountains and I like doing palm trees too. ?Usually, I paint inside, but I enjoy both painting inside and outside.?

Nahshon is particularly drawn to oils.

?I tried before to paint with watercolours, but I prefer oils. It is the sharpness of the colour that I like.?

And how does he feel when he paints?

?Well, I just feel, like, a little bit happy because it?s really my favourite thing to do. I think I will be an artist when I grow up.?

Perhaps surprisingly Nahshon has not taken part in any extracurricular art classes.

?I don?t take part in any workshops. ?But, probably, I will take some courses.?

When asked what he did with the winning painting he said: ?I took it home, but some people wanted to buy it.?

Mr. Hollis Sr. said his son was not supposed to be in the Festival?s Quick Art competition as it had no children?s category.

?When they saw all his work, however, they said ?let him go? and told him to put them on the board. There were five pieces and a woman said that nobody came close to his work. She said the one that won was a big margin.?

He added everyone came round to take pictures of the only child against so many adults.

?And because there was no category they couldn?t place him with the adults, but if they did he would have been standing pretty good.

?He is pretty well there and there is no use having him in a child?s category because every where we go people say, ?he has it already?.

?There is not really an art school here where he can get a couple of more pointers. But coming from the artists, Sharon Wilson has spoken to him and they are just amazed.?

?It was overwhelming for the family said his father because so many people were really interested in his work.

?People kept coming and collectors wanted to buy,? said Mr. Hollis Sr. ?And some people put a very high price tag on his work because we had his portfolio there and they were going through it and couldn?t believe it.

?People were throwing cards at us, one woman said he can paint people?s houses and some people came and asked where was his gallery and where?s his business card ? I was like he?s ten years old.

?But he just looked so professional, head straight and painting and people were asking, ?how old are you?? And poor daddy is just in shambles, I?m like ?my life? I couldn?t handle it. I had to go and sit under a tree for a minute.?

Mr. Hollis added: ?His gallery right now it is the living room and the kitchen ? there is paint on the cabinets and I come home and have to clean up the mess.

?We have a piece in here that is pretty big and an art collector friend of ours said it was worth about $3,000.

?The piece that she wants is smaller and goes with the decor of her house and she said, ?I don?t care if you put it in an art show ? it is mine ? whatever the price.

?And we were getting that all day, but people wanted the same piece, and I said let me get some advice on that.

?I was so shocked because people were so serious and they said to me, ?Mr. Hollis, do what you have to do ? I want that painting? and many others wanted to get a piece of his art now while he was still young.

?We are just laid back, church going people and I am like - my life!??

Mr. Hollis added that his son has been telling everyone from aged two that he was going to be an artist.

?And right now I can say that he is an artist because last week I held his little easel on the table and the wind started coming up,? he said.

?And I said, ?you?re doing professional work ? I need to get you a professional easel, so I went on Saturday and got this easel.?

Mr. Hollis said it was important for people to see his son painting.

?They could see that he was actually the one doing it,? he said, ?Not his daddy, who can?t paint a lick, although I paint people?s houses.?

Nahshon is apparently such a perfectionist, that his dad said: ?He has had me rub off a whole piece of canvas. He is so passionate and if he feels that there is something wrong with it and even if I?m like ?this is beautiful? ? it has to go.

?But the piece that he done on top of it was incredible and if you saw it you wouldn?t believe it.?

Mr. Hollis is trying to keep a balance between his children and he said: ?Everyone asks his sister, Shanna, what she is going to do and she says ?well I?m going to collect his money?.

?We are trying to keep encouraging her so that she doesn?t get lost with him getting all the attention, but she is there and she is not phased and his demeanour is cool calm and collected.

?I say, this boy is just well rounded in everything that he touches and sometimes he is like a perfectionist.?

Mr. Hollis said growing up, both he and his wife Shawn, were very artistic. He figured that his son had just grabbed all of the genes and said, ?I?m going to promote this one?.

Mr. Hollis added that his mother died when he was only four years old and he was raised by his grandparents.

?I was also really good at cricket, but there wasn?t any support and I never got pushed,? he said, ?So, I thought that when I got my kids I would be behind them 100 percent.

?He was doing all this fantastic art in scrap books and me and my wife said, ?let?s get him some canvas, but the bigger we got it ? the better it was.

?If you came and saw the rest if his work that he has already done, you wouldn?t believe it and he would tell you that it was his worst work

*Butterfield Bank president and chief executive officer Alan Thompson was on hand to present awards to the winners in each category of Butterfield Bank?s Grand Art Festival .

He said: ?Butterfield Bank, along with Masterworks Foundation, is pleased to be associated with this wonderful event, and congratulate all of the artists who participated.?

Mr. Thompson also noted that a new feature this year, t-shirt painting, was such a huge success that next year a larger area will be allocated to accommodate the number of youngsters who were eager to display their artistic talents.

Travel vouchers were provided by Meyer Franklin Travel to the first, second and third place winners in the Quick Art competition and also to the People?s Choice winners.

Miniature hand-crafted Bermuda cedar easels were presented to prize winners in all categories.

In the Quick Art competition, where artists had six hours to complete their work, the winners were: first place, Frank Dublin; second place, Giles Campbell; third place, Vaughn Evans; and an honourable mention went to Nahshon O?Neil Hollis.

The People?s Choice awards were determined by votes from approximately 2,000 visitors and the winners were Karen Kell and Nahshon O?Neil Hollis, in the adult and children?s categories, respectively.

The other winners in the pre-judged categories the eight and under Ella Burt, won first prize, Alana Fischer, came in second and Aisling O?Connell took third place.

The 12 and under category winners were first prize winner Alex Jack, second Rupert Lang, and third Aisling Gorman.

James Lee was the first prize winner in the 16 and under category. He was followed by both Micrae Eugene Smith and Lee Simmons who tied in second place.

The 21 years and under winner was Michelle Lindo who had a recent show at the Interim and is about to leave for art college later this month.

The adult winners were Sheri Lima, in first place, Steven Conway, coming in second and C. Renee Heyliger, in third.

The senior winners were first place winner, Stella Belvin , second place winner, Anna Cann, and third place winner, Keith Rossiter.

In the special person category Grant Hall, won first, Joyce Joell-Hayden, came in second, and Betty McMahon was third.

Of the professionals, Karen Kell, took first place, Dhammika, was second and Frank Dublin was third.