Celebrating six months of award-winning art

Amber with her dog Molly and the front cover of The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health

Budding artists from Evelina London have seen their artwork published on the cover of a prestigious medical journal for the first six months of 2018.

June marks the final month that The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health will feature the artwork of an Evelina London competition winner on their front cover. For the first half of 2018, six outstanding designs by young people aged 6-17 featured on the front of the medical journal.

Cathy Gill, senior play specialist at Evelina London, who helped to set up the competition, said: “It’s been really great working with so many of our patients on this really important art project. We received so many fantastic entries and everyone who took part should feel extremely proud of themselves."

To celebrate the winners’ achievements and the efforts of all who took part, all six front covers and some of the other entries will be displayed in the hospital throughout the summer.

June’s cover, the last in the series, was created by nine-year-old Amber Baskerville, from Westgate in Kent. The artwork shows a boy and a girl playing outside with two large colourful balls and was drawn with coloured felt tip pens.

Amber has lipomyelomeningocele, a birth defect that affects the spine and can cause problems with movement and the bladder. She’s been cared for at Evelina London since she was 18 months old.

Amber said: “I was really excited when I found out I’d won. It’s my 10th birthday in June so it feels like an extra special birthday gift. Drawing the picture was a lot of fun. I like drawing and using lots of different colours. I drew a picture of a boy and a girl playing together outside because I really like playing outside, especially with my pet dog Molly.”

Amber created her artwork in September 2017 before a planned bladder operation, during an art session led by Evelina London’s play specialists. The team are specially trained in providing play for sick children and young people.

Amber’s mum Nicola said: “Amber was a bit nervous before her operation as it was the first time she’d had a procedure with a general anaesthetic and she has a slight fear of needles.

“The play specialist came by and mentioned the Lancet competition and suggested that Amber draw a picture for the competition as a distraction. It definitely helped her to take her mind off the operation. I was thrilled when I found out Amber had won. I’m massively proud of her.”

See a full list of competition winners and their front cover art.