An 18-year-old girl has achieved her ‘life goal’ before even graduating from high school after her painting went on display at one of the world’s most prestigious art galleries.
Cliffannie Forrester, from Brooklyn, New York, was selected from more than 1,000 submissions to have her Uganda painting displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as part of an annual exhibition, P.S. Art 2016: Celebrating the Creative Spirit of New York City Kids.
Such was her joy that she tweeted: ‘Who just completed their life goal at age 18? Me. As of 6/14/16 my piece is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.’
Dream: Cliffanie, from Brooklyn, New York, wrote on Twitter that it was her ‘life goal’ to have her work hung at the prestigious art gallery, pictured
Creative: Cliffannie, pictured in front of her painting projected in Times Square, New York, wants to pursue a career as an artist
Her tweet has been liked more than 87,000 times and Cliffanie has been inundated with messages of congratulations and praise.
Cliffannie, who graduated from high school today, created the painting after a missionary trip to Uganda when she spotted a little girl who she said ‘was just standing around, admiring everything’.
She took a rushed photo of the girl on her phone which she showed to her art teacher Maria Jimenez when she got home to New York who suggested she use it as inspiration for a painting, she told Elle.com.
Cliffannie said the subject of the painting made her feel ‘like I was at ease, or at home’ when she saw her.
She said she likes to ‘capture an emotion’ through her art finds creating artwork an ‘escape’. She added: ‘Whenever I feel down, I try to draw, to ease my mind.’
Cliffannie hopes to pursue a career as an artist when she has finished studying and plans to go to college to study a degree in fine art later this year.
