8 year old MATTHEW CHEN has just been crowned the 2019 winner of the “YOUNG ARCHIE COMPETITION” in the 5 – 8 year old category for a painting he made of his dad showing the love and respect he has for his dad.
It took him 3 days to finish the portrait which he explained to SBS Mandarin was ” “daddy very mysteriously and seriously looking at something.” But there is more to this story as little Matthew articulates why he drew his father and why he admires him so much. This is what he told SBS Mandarin:
“I have drawn my dad because he is a great medical scientist and a wonderful father,”
The artwork is named “My Super Daddy”, and it is pretty obvious why little Matthew named it this way. His dad is Dr Xin-Min Chen, Associate Professor at the Sydney Medical School of the University of Sydney, and yes, Dr Chen is as proud as pie at his son’s achievement – why wouldn’t he be? This is what he told SBS Mandarin:
“I’m proud of him, and I’m also thrilled,”
“My friends and colleagues who saw the portrait all agreed that it looks exactly like me. It should be on the wall in my office.”
“Matthew thinks my job is very helpful to the patients. He is proud of that, and that’s why I got to be his model.”
“Usually when I work, I make sure that I’m concentrated without any disruption. I was actually thinking a difficult problem when Matthew was drawing me, therefore it looks a bit mysterious,”
This is little Matthew’s third time entering the competition. He entered a picture of his mother in 2016 and a picture of himself in 2017 of himself which was shortlisted. But it was this year which he got the top prize, so kudos to the young guy for his perseverance and hard work to get this result! Possibly a budding Asian Australian future artist, but as he told SBS Mandarin his dream is to be exactly like his dad.
Images via SBS Mandarin
To read the original article, please click on: ‘My super daddy’: Matthew Chen wins Young Archibald for portrait of father