Blake Kenworthey of Abita Springs is no stranger to accomplishment. The 17-year-old recent graduate of Fontainebleau High School is a talented and recognized artist, and he’s got a house full of paintings, a growing list of clients and a number of awards as proof of his skills.

Most recently, he won 2008 Louisiana Best of Show in the Federal Junior Duck Stamp art competition. Kenworthey’s entry, an oil and acrylic painting titled “Life on the Water,” beat out all the competition at the state level and advanced to the nationals.

The talented teen takes it all in stride. The recognition is nice, but painting is his passion. He started drawing when he was 3 years old, pretty much as soon as he could control a pencil. Then his parents, Michael and Nicki, gave him an art kit for his 11th birthday. He started painting, and he hasn’t stopped.

Blake Kenworthey

Kenworthey is a natural. He’s self-taught, although he’s been in the Talented Art Program at school since the fourth grade. And he’s the first artist in his family.

The walls of his house offer testament to his extraordinary skills. A swamp bird stands in regal magnificence in a corner off the entryway. The family dog is rendered in a spot across the room. A giant, ancient tree sprawls across a framed canvas in a hallway. And a mesmerizing, colorful lakefront scene, with crabs and crawfish in the foreground, hangs in the living room. That work was just chosen as the winner of the 2008 Mandeville Seafood Festival Poster Contest.

Copies of the poster are available for purchase at www.seafoodfest.com.

The young artist’s many accomplishments also include winning first place in the recent Salad Days Juried Art Competition with a self-portrait titled “Reflections of an Artist,” and being one of four featured artists at a fund-raising event for the St. Tammany Children’s Museum. A stunning swamp scene he donated to that event was sold at auction for $650.

Kenworthey has been taking part in the Duck Stamp competition for a few years.

“I first heard about the contest through my eighth-grade art teacher, Paulo Dufour,” he said. “He introduced me to it, but I didn’t actually enter that year.”

When Kenworthey did submit an entry, he did well, and he just keeps getting better. When he was in the 10th grade, he won second place in his age category. When he was in the 11th grade, he won first place in his category. This year, he won it all at the state competition. And although he did not place at the national level, he plans to pursue that as an adult.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” said Kenworthey. “My cousin, Taylor Krulisky, also entered last year, and we both got first place in our age category.”

He said he was “very excited” to win Best of Show this year.

“I was hoping,” said Kenworthey. “I put a lot into it this year, but you never know with juried things. It was quite a pleasant surprise.”

Now Kenworthey is preparing for the Talented Art Senior Show at the St. Tammany Art Association Gallery. The closing reception is from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, he said.

He’s also getting ready to go to college. He didn’t pursue any art scholarships, but got two academic scholarships to Nicholls State University. Of course, he’ll study art.

In the mean time, he will continue to take his portable art box and record the sights along the shores of Lake Pontchartrain as filtered through his own spirit. He’ll paint what he sees and what he feels.

Kenworthey will also render what others want, such as pet portraits and “memories” from photographs. That’s his high school job, and it provides him with an income while not stifling his natural evolution.

He is an artist. Remember the name. And keep watching those Duck Stamps. If the trend continues, people all across the country could be licking the backside of one of Kenworthey’s drawings before too long for the benefit of wetlands conservation.

To find out more about the young artist, visit kenwortheyart.tripod.com.