Last spring when 16-yearold Michael Yuan picked up his paintbrush, he wanted to try something different. Inspired by a black-and-white picture he had spotted in his art teacher's collection, Yuan came up with the idea of an acrylic color painting of a man's wizened face.

The young artist's work, Portrait of an Old Man, recently won the 2012 Congressional Art Competition for New Jersey's 10th Congressional District.

"My initial expectation wasn't this high so I was quite surprised to get the results," said Yuan, a junior at Millburn High School in New Jersey's Essex County, about 21 miles (34 kilometers) west of New York City.

"I spent about a month, on and off, working on this piece," he said.

Color was central to the painting, particularly in emphasizing the character's face.

The competition issued awards in seven categories: drawing, painting, printmaking, collage, mixed media, photography and

digital art. Yuan's work won first place in painting and was judged best overall of more than 50 pieces submitted by students within his district. Portrait of an Old Man will be displayed in the US Capitol in Washington for one year along with winning

works from other congressional art contests across the country.

"I am pretty excited about it," the young artist said.

Judges for the competition were primarily looking for painting technique and creativity; all artwork entries are required to be original in concept, design and execution.

Yuan moved to the US with his parents from China when he was 6 years old and has been studying painting from a private art teacher in his spare time since he was 9. For about seven years he has mainly practiced sketching. His winning piece is one of a dozen works in which he has painted people, life and landscapes.

The art honor, however, won't change Yuan's college plan, which will be a choice among engineering, law or economics.

"Art is a hobby I am really passionate about and it's something I am going to keep when I am in college and when I am older," said Yuan. "I might pursue art as a minor in college, but I won't go to art school or become an artist."

The teen painter has won a number of prizes in local art competitions, while also excelling at table tennis and being named a 2nd Top Speaker (out of 293 debaters) in a Lincoln-Douglas-style debate at a Harvard University national competition.

Portrait of an Old Man was also a Gold Key Winner at the prestigious 2012 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. The piece is on its way to the Capitol for the ceremony to open the Cannon Tunnel exhibition on June 20 in Washington. The tunnel connects the Capitol to the one of the main office buildings for members of the House of Representatives, and the display is a highlight of Capitol tours.

Founded in 1982, the annual competition is sponsored by the Congressional Institute and open to all high school students in each district represented a House member. About 690,000 student works have been entered during the competition's 30-year history.

Contact the writer at yuweizhang@chinadailyusa.com.