Congratulations to the winners of the Texas Auto Writers Association's first-ever Bill Neale Automotive Fine Art Award for High School Students! The award honors world-renowned automotive artist Bill Neale by recognizing and encouraging excellence in automotive fine art among high school students. The Dallas-based artist passed away in 2021 at the age of 95.
"The level of artistic talent from all the winners of this year's Bill Neale Automotive Fine Art Award for High School Students was exemplary! My father would be so proud this contest is finding and supporting young artists to further the genre of Automotive Fine Art.” - Leslie Neale, Bill Neale’s Daughter/Terlingua Racing Team
The competition is sponsored by The Carroll Shelby Foundation, Mecum Auctions, Terlingua Racing Team and the Texas Auto Writers Association.
2024 Grand Prize Winner
Michigan 12th grader Matvey Pulako was named the Grand Prize winner of the inaugural competition at Mecum Houston 2024 on Saturday, April 6th for his entry titled "Racing Roxy the T Rex".
Matvey Pulako, 1st Place, "Racing Roxy the T Rex".
“I am unbelievably grateful to be the first high school student to receive this prestigious award. It truly is important to who I am. I will be attending the College For Creative Studies next year to continue my studies involving automotive art, and it was really special to have this competition that really aligned with my passion for cars and art. In my work I was really inspired by the raw emotion and speed of racing; the blur of the cars flying by at unbelievable speeds. I wanted to create a sensation more than just a canvas with paint on it. I would also like to thank everyone involved in this program as it was an amazing experience and it means so much to me.” - Matvey Pukalo, 1st Place Winner
You can check out the Mecum Auctions MotorTrend video interview with Pulako below or at this link:
Video Courtesy of Mecum Auctions, Inc.
2024 2nd and 3rd Place Winners
The second and third place winners were 11th grader Harmon Joel Laatsch for his entry titled “Desert Dream Machine” and New York 10th grader Fatemah Alloo with her entry “Red.” Second place receives a $500 cash prize and third place a $250 cash prize.
2nd Place, Harmon Joel Laatsch, "Desert Dream Machine".
3rd Place, Fatemah Alloo, "Red".
The award was open to U.S. high school students in grades 9-12. The Texas Auto Writers Association says an exception was made for Laatsch who attends school in Germany where his father, who serves in the United States Air Force, is currently stationed.
The 2024 award beneficiary was the non-profit TechForce Foundation. Its mission is to champion all students to and through their education and into careers as professional technicians.
For more details visit BillNealeAward.org.
Group Photo: Left to Right, Leslie Neale- The Neale Family/Daniel Shuhart -Techforce Foundation Ambassador/Teia Collier - Texas Auto Writers Association/Matvey Pukalo - Grand Prize Winner, Yevgeniya Pukalo - Matvey’s mom. Courtesy: Bill Neale Automotive Fine Art Award for High School Students.
VIDEO (Courtesy of Mecum Auctions, Inc.): Mecum Houston 2024 MotorTrend interview, April 6, 2024. Video Link
