A Sylvan Hills High School student’s painting receives considerable acclaim

Little Rock, Arkansas – After you see it, you’ll realize why a Sylvan Hills High School student’s artwork is attracting so much attention.

Mikki Young, a student at Sylvan Hills High School, is present in an art classroom. She uses color as therapy in this setting.

“Drawing for me has become a way to express myself and to keep myself calm,” Young said.

Her pencil marks give canvas and paper life.

“The process of being able to make things, I find very satisfying,” she said.

But her oil painting of a pair of hands is what is winning people over.

“When you look at a person’s face, they’ll tell you one thing,” Young said. “But if you look at a person’s hands, they’ll really tell you the story of their life.”
And this tale is lovely.

“Those hands have given a lot of hugs,” she said. “I think I captured some of the warmth that are in those hands.”

The creases and furrows are Ray Snyder, Mikki’s grandfather. His favorite chair and a simple everyday moment have been captured in time.

The name of the masterwork? Very easy.

“I’ve just been calling it Paw Paw’s Hands,” Young said.

She worked for 30 hours to capture this fleeting moment in time, and it paid off. Mikki was awarded a $20,000 scholarship for “Paw Paw’s Hands.”

“I was so excited,” Young said. “My mom cried.”

She has even received acknowledgment at the highest level of the state for the painting. At the State Capitol, State Representative Carlton Wing recognized Mikki’s accomplishment.

And that’s not the end of it.

“Paw Paw’s Hands” has reached more than 300,000 people on social media.

“I think it comes down to personal connection,” Young said.

Undoubtedly, the skill of these young artists’ hands contributes to the painting’s impressiveness, but perhaps even more so, the fact that we all know someone we want could live forever contributes to its exceptionality.

The University of Arkansas in Fayetteville is where Mikki said she intends to enroll. In the future, she wants to work at art galleries or pursue a career in art conservation.