LEWISBURG (WVDN) – Ashley Wheeler, from Shady Spring, has been announced as the winner of the First Annual State Fair of West Virginia Official Art Contest. Her artwork titled “Lucky Duck” will be featured as the official print of the State Fair and will be available for purchase at the State Fair merchandise booth at the 97th annual event, Aug.11-20.
“I have been doing some form of art for as long as I can remember,” Wheeler stated. “I won my very first art contest in the first grade, and from that point on I was hooked.”
Now an elementary school teacher, Wheeler graduated from Concord University where she studied art whenever she could, and earned a minor in studio art. After taking a break from her artwork when she began working full-time, Wheeler picked her passion back up during the pandemic and now has 15 paintings at local businesses. Her specialty is animals.
The selected painting for this contest features a young boy holding a duck with some of the more iconic fair images in the background. It will be available as a print or poster for purchase this year.
“Having my artwork chosen for the print of the year is a great accomplishment that I am very proud of,” she concluded. “My ultimate dream is to be able to paint full-time.”
