Muscat: The joyous expression of Omani leader Sultan Qaboos portrayed by leading Omani artist Saud Al Hunaini clinched the top honours in the ‘Qaboos Oman’ painting contest.
The winners of the national competition to create the best portrait of Sultan Qaboos were announced today (Monday) at the grand finale presided over by Sayyid Shihab Bin Tareq al Said.
Indian artists Heena Kothary and T C Suresh won the second and third prizes respectively depicting the royal grandeur of His Majesty the Sultan in their paintings. Fahad Abdullah Al Zadjali, Adham Ismail Hamdan Al Farsi and Nizar Khalid Al Mishrif were the other three artists among the six short-listed finalists who received consolation prizes while all participants received certificates of appreciation from the guest of honour.
BankMuscat in association with the Omani Society for Fine Arts hosted the competition held to mark the 39th National Day.
Over 200 artists participated in the competition at three branches of the Omani Society for Fine Arts in Muscat, Salalah and Buraimi. Six paintings were short-listed and judged by an expert panel constituted by the Omani Society for Fine Arts alongside an SMS voting campaign for the top prizes. The short-listed entries were displayed on popular websites to generate nation-wide participation in the SMS voting process.
The competition started on 10 November and artists were given eight days to complete their works. The SMS voting campaign generated nation-wide excitement for the competition.
