Ezekiel Swindell

age:13

Ezekiel Swindell can’t quite remember when he started drawing, but he has as long as he can remember and doesn’t plan on stopping.

Ezekiel is 13 years old and has been recognized on multiple occasions for his amazing artistic talents.

In 2019, Ezekiel had the opportunity to participate in the annual tradition of Suffolk Public Schools students painting downtown business windows for the Christmas season. He painted a winter scene of a log cabin with a snowman on the window of Baron’s Pub, a highly trafficked restaurant in downtown Suffolk.

Ezekiel has also won three scholarships from the Suffolk Art League for his art. In the 2019 -2020 school year, he won the Sharon Picot and Chip Picot Student Scholarship and the John R. Taylor Memorial Scholarship for Visual Arts. He won the Taylor one again this school year.

He hopes to put the money from these scholarships toward Governor’s School for the Arts. Ezekiel’s plan is to try for next year’s summer camp for visual arts.

Ezekiel keeps his creative process simple. Since he is only in seventh grade, Ezekiel has not thought much about his future but figures he will do something with art.

“I draw a lot of realistic stuff like people and faces,” said Ezekiel. “I’m trying to draw other things too from my imagination.”

Ezekiel also loves to bake cakes and cupcakes. He won the 2018 Cupcake Wars for his age division at Lake Prince Woods Retirement Community to raise money to end Alzheimer’s. His winning creation? Cupcakes that looked like apples.

No matter the format, if it is something artistic, Ezekiel’s masterpiece is sure to stand out.

— Rachel Wartian

What are your favorite books? The “Amulet” series by Kazu Kibushi.

What is your favorite movie? “The Mysterious Island”