Phuket boy Loic Tim at just 6½ years old has already collected enough awards most artists would be proud of at twice his age.
For those who remember, The Phuket News reported Loic winning a major prize at the XVI International Wildlife Festival ’Golden Turtle’ photo contest held in Moscow in November.
Loic was not only the youngest prize winner, but the youngest entrant in the entire photo contest, which saw 10,668 works entered. His photo, “Starfish to be Rescued”, was taken at Nai Harn Beach. The stunning image was awarded third place in the nomination “Nature through the eyes of children”. Loic was just 4 years old when he took that photo.
Yet that prize only added to Loic’s growing portfolio of award-winning creations, dating back to 2021.
In November that year Loic won the Bronze Prize in the World Children Drawing Competition 2021 in Sofia, Bulgaria. His entry, ‘The Galaxy of Space’, was among 6,000 entries from over 50 countries in the ‘World Children Drawing Competition’, under the theme Green Planet.
For his entry, US Ambassador to Bulgaria Herro Mustafa awarded Loic a letter of recognition honouring Loïc as a ‘True Cultural Ambassador’.
The school that Loic attends. BCIS Phuket International school in Chalong, also honoured the young artist. “Recognised by the United States of America Embassy in Sofia (Bulgaria) for winning the bronze award of the World Children Drawing Competition 2021 at 4 years old, Loïc’s incredible masterpiece ‘The Galaxy of Space’ is an impressionist painting of a green galaxy, where, as he described, all of the planets are environmentally friendly and green,” the school announced through its newsletter.
“With this first entry to a world art competition, for which over 6,000 works of art where submitted from over 50 countries, Loïc took home not only a fantastic 3rd place bronze award, but also an Official certificate and letter of congratulations from the US embassy, which we feel honored to share with our community today. At just 4 years old, he is the youngest winner of the prestigious worldwide competition ever.
“On behalf of BCIS, we are tremendously proud of his achievement, creative talents and his vision of an environmentally friendly Galaxy. Our Year 1 Star has already shown incredible skills at school and within our community, we could not be happier to follow and support his success on a wider scale today, as we invite you to join us in congratulating his remarkable talent,” the school acknowledged.
Yet Loic’s achievements kept growing. In June last year he was awarded ‘Honorable selection’ from 3,200 entries in the 24th International Youth Art Exhibition in Nova Zagora, Bulgaria, for his painting ‘Under the Sea’.
Sombat Laohapongchana, Thailand’s the Head Honorary Consul in the Republic of Bulgaria, gave recognition to Loic’s creations, and his remarkably young age in his artistic achievements, at an event in Bangkok in July last year, where Loic presented Mr Sombat his first portrait painting.
By August last year, Loic was Gold Prize Award Winner in the Hong Kong DITP and Thailand CP brand children drawing competition with his ‘Mommy Chicken Eggs’, with Loïc at 5 years old.
In October, his ‘Lobster Counts on Two Crabs’ was selected to be exhibited in the Gallery of Toruń Poland for the 21st International Children and Youth Art Competition. That same month Loic was invited to attend the award-giving ceremony and exhibition for the International Wildlife Festival Photography Exhibition in Moscow
In December Loic met Peyami Kalyoncu, the Turkish Consul General in Hong Kong, for his winning entry ‘The Colorful Owl’ in the Gaziantep Mizyal Art Gallery Competition in Turkey.
That same month Loic won First Place Award in the Early Elementary School division of the Robert Shetterly ‘My Hero Project’ International Portrait Contest for his painting ‘My Papa and Mama’.
Only last month Loic was featured in an article titled ‘Celebrating Young Talent!’ in the popular ‘Kanvas Magazine’.
Loic loves ‒ and if it is not obvious yet, finds inspiration in ‒ nature. Living in Phuket, he loves the ocean.
He also has already developed an extended attention span, his mother Nicole notes. “Sometimes he wakes up and just wants to draw. He is so very focussed, and he can sit there for hours drawing or painting,” she says.
Although Loic is more prone to drawing and painting, he hasn’t given up photography just yet. He still uses his mum’s phone when the occasion arises. Loic himself already notices the difference between him and his mum taking photos. “When I take a photo, I take just one… But my mum always takes 10 or 20,” he says.
Loic attends the regular art classes at his school, but his imagination and creativity are what set him apart in the international art competitions, where youngsters are not overly appraised by the technical skills, but more on their clarity of concept and expression of ideas. One of Loic’s strengths is his impressive use of colours.
Loic says that the awards he has already been bestowed are “great”, but he would still draw and paint without them. “Because if there are no awards, it’s okay; if you win, it is okay, if you lose, it is okay,” he says.
Among his collection, Loic has no favourites. “I like them all,” he assures.
Loic also encourages everyone to try their hand at art. “Anyone can draw – just go ahead and try it,” he says.
In the meantime, Loic has two more works to be submitted for international competitions for young artists. One of them is to be entered in a competition in the Czech Republic; the other, titled ‘American Native tales’, is to be entered in a competition in France.
“We hope to give you good news by the end of this year,” his mum Nicole says.
