Milly visits her Deep inspiration with new Colour Pages
Her colourful picture was picked from hundreds of entries
Find out more about the winning artist
A stirring picture of The Deep by an 11-year-old schoolgirl will be seen by every household in Hull when it takes pride of place on the cover of KCOM’s Colour Pages.
The popular directory will feature the drawing by Milly Northey, a Year Six pupil at Newland St John’s CE Academy, after she won a KCOM competition to find a talented young artist to create an eye-catching cover.
The Colour Pages, which this year celebrates its 65th anniversary and is the longest-running trades and services directory in the UK, is distributed to 200,000 properties across Hull and East Yorkshire – all of which will now be able to enjoy Milly’s work.
Milly, who took two days to create her masterpiece, said: “I’m a bit shocked. I didn’t think I’d win at all, but I’m really happy that it’s been picked. It’s weird to think that a copy of my picture will be sent to every house in Hull.”
Milly’s evocative picture shows The Deep aquarium at twilight as it juts into the brooding Humber Estuary sky - and what could be a cheeky shark swims past out to sea.
Milly’s dad Richard, said: “I’m definitely proud of her. It’s a great achievement. She put a lot of work into the picture and I think it’s really good.”
Mum Samantha, said: “It’s fantastic. Milly’s really good at art so I knew she would be in with a chance, but to actually win it is brilliant.”
Brendon Smurthwaite, KCOM’s community coordinator, said: “We’re delighted that Milly’s amazing picture of The Deep will feature on the cover of our Colour Pages giving thousands of people the chance to enjoy it.
“The competition was a huge success with loads of entries showing what a creative bunch Hull’s school children are. It was a difficult decision to pick a winner, but Milly’s picture perfectly captured the spirit of Hull – with the iconic and futuristic building of The Deep set against the familiar tides of the Humber. It’s very atmospheric and a great advert for the city.”
The winning design
Newland St John’s CE Academy Year Six teacher Helen Wilson, said her whole class had been inspired by the competition.
She said: “We had some really strong entries but Milly worked really hard to make her picture the best it could be. She took it home to work on it and kept asking when the deadline was so she got it finished in time.
“We’re really proud of her. Milly has a natural talent for art and winning this competition will really give her a boost to believe in her abilities. It’s nice to think that every pupil at the school will get a copy of Milly’s picture delivered to their house.”
Becky Leach, marketing and communications manager for The Deep, said: “It’s great to see that Milly has taken inspiration from The Deep and created such a fantastic picture.
“Our iconic building has been used as a backdrop for many artists over the years and it’s great to see local young people engaging with our city’s architecture.”
As well as seeing her picture in print, Milly also received a Samsung Galaxy Tablet as a prize with two runners up – Jasmine Stubbins, 11, also of Newland St John’s and Matilda Route, seven, of Ings Primary School, each receiving a £25 Amazon gift voucher for their colourful creations.
More than 200,000 copies of the classified business and services directory will be distributed across Hull and East Yorkshire – from Hedon to Hull and Dunswell to Driffield – this August.