Findlay boy could be 'Most Artistic Kid'

FINDLAY — Logan Trutt's journey with art is powered by joy. Among his many paintings and artwork, the 11-year-old Findlay boy created a painting of a panda bear floating among the clouds, an orange and yellow fish fashioned from clay, and Tony the Tiger, the cartoon mascot for Frosted Flakes breakfast cereal, with a paintbrush. "He loves creating art because it allows him to make others smile and feel inspired," said his mother, Allison Trutt. Logan lives with autism and anxiety. "Through art my son can express himself when words are a struggle for him," Allison said. "Art gives him the power to be confident and a sense of identity." Logan, along with youth ages 6 to 17, has been selected as a contestant in the inaugural "America's Most Artistic Kid" competition, a national contest honoring the legacy of painter Bob Ross. "I'm not sure if he'd heard of Bob Ross before, but he's very familiar with him now," said Allison. The competition, hosted by actor and Certified Ross Instructor David Arquette, offers a grand prize including $20,000 and a guest appearance on "The Joy of Painting" with Nicholas Hankins. The winner's art will also be displayed in the Bob Ross exhibit at the Minnetrista Museum in Muncie, Indiana. Allison nominated her son in the contest. Logan is currently in first place in his group. "Ever since he could hold a pencil, he's been drawing and sketching," she said. "He would watch YouTube tutorials of other people drawing, and that's how he is kind of self-taught in a way." She said all three of her children have autism. The family learned about Awakening Minds Art — which is dedicated to providing therapeutic and educational visual art programs to all ages and abilities — with Tyler, who is the oldest. "I just wanted to encourage that as well for Logan," said Allison, who serves on the AMA board. "Logan is a very talented little artist." He often takes inspiration from his favorite video games and storybook characters, she noted, "using his imagination to bring them to life in his own unique way." Sketching and painting are his favorite art forms. "Logan loves how sketching lets him explore new ideas and how painting allows him to use color to make his art exciting and full of energy," she said. The public's vote will determine the winning artist. "People have been voting for him, and the Findlay City Schools posted it, and he got a lot of votes that way. It's really exciting," said Allison. The contest is also a fundraiser for Blood Cancer United, formerly the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, she said. "You can vote free once a day. But if you want to pay for more votes, you can donate and that money goes to the blood cancer organization," she said. Since the contest started in February, there have been new rounds each week starting with the top 20, then the top 10 and the top five. "As it whittles down, he's going to get put, I think, with the bigger kids eventually so that's why I'm trying to get as much help as I can," said Allison. The contest will conclude at the end of April, she said. The winner will be announced around May 8. "Throughout this contest, if we don't get to be the winner, he's been working on a Bob Ross-style painting. So that will be the critic's choice," said Allison. "They'll get to vote on that painting." Should Logan win the contest, Allison said part of the prize money will be saved for college. "But as any 11-year-old little boy, he really, really wants to go to Universal Studio," she said. "The new Super Nintendo World, he really wants to go there which I think would be really cool, too." To vote, scan the QR code accompanying this story with your smartphone.