Student Scholarships

The Sanford Brush & Palette Club awards college merit scholarships each year. To be eligible, a student must be enrolled in a school in Lee County. All applicants must align with the SBPC mission and fine art definition and artistic forms (traditional 2D, 3D art and clay). Other forms of artistic expression are not eligible.

Scholarship Eligibility

• Category 1: Seniors attending public and private schools as well as homeschooled students, and entering the fall or spring semester at a university, college, or community college upon graduation may apply. They do not have to major in art.
• Category 2: Current college students that graduated from a school in Lee County majoring in art, art education, graphic art or design may apply or reapply (even if they have received a previous scholarship).
• Category 3: Students that have graduated from a school in Lee County pursuing a Master’s Degree in art, art education, graphic art or design, or a terminal degree in fine arts may apply.
• Category 4: Art faculty members employed by a school in Lee County desiring additional courses or certifications in art, art education, graphic art or design may apply.

How to Apply

• Step 1: Complete the Online Application Form in Google Forms
• Step 2:
  • Email four (4) photos of original artwork in JPG or a PDF
  • Category 1 and 2 applicants must submit a Letter of Recommendation from a teacher, counselor, or parent (if homeschooled) in Word or Google Docs format.
  • Submit a 500 word essay answering the question “What is your art story?”
• Please use the link below to send your images, letters, and documents.

After awarded, all required paperwork for financial deposit to the registrar must be submitted by the recipient to the Sanford Brush and Palette Club Scholarship Chairperson or Treasurer within 8 months. Failure to do so will forfeit the scholarship.

Scholarship winners will be notified by May 5 each year. Scholarships are paid directly to the financial aid office of the college upon acceptance by the recipient. Recipients will receive a certificate of award. All scholarships are subject to financial availability.

---

Billie Elmore Art Scholarship

Billie Elmore began painting when she was living in Germany after World War II. A young Army bride, living abroad, she enrolled in a class offered by the Army Special Services program for military families. She completed two paintings. The one of the famous Swiss Matterhorn received an honorable mention in the European Theater Special Services Competition. Favoring seascapes, landscape, still lifes and florals, Billie attended many art classes and workshops. She enjoyed painting in oils, watercolors and with mixed media. 

Billie was a member of the Sanford Brush & Palette Club from 1985 until her passing in 1999. She served as Workshop Committee Chair for many years and as President in 1988, 1989 and 1994. Billie was voted Artist of the Year in 1996 and had exhibited at many Annual Art Shows and throughout the country receiving numerous honors for her work.

2023 Billie Elmore Art Scholarship Winner

---

Previous Scholarship Recipients

2019 Scholarship Recipient
The Marge Carney Art Scholarship was awarded to Laura Hedrick, graduate of Lee County High School.  

My name is Laura Frances Hedrick. I have always been into the arts whether dealing with music or painting. I have been taking art classes with Mrs. Lisa since I was little and continued it throughout high school. I have found it to be a peaceful hobby that helps me clear my head. However, I consider art as more of a hobby which is why I am going to NC State’s School of Design for architecture so I can combine my creative skills with my practical skills. I want to help plan and create structures that improve the community and the environment.

2018 Scholarship Recipients
The Marge Carney Art Scholarship was awarded to Alexis Lloyd, graduate of Lee County High School. 

When I was a child, I was quiet and kept to myself — this was because I was deemed the weird kid. The times I did smile and have true fun was when art was involved. And this journey all started when I was making arts and crafts with my Dad. He is my first art teacher and the best I’ve ever had.  I wouldn’t be where I am now without him starting me off on this path and my Mom being there with the most support anyone could give.

Now I aspire to go out into the world and make a series and just content that connects people from different backgrounds. This is so anyone can be happy with art, anyone can be part of something, no one is weird, we are all similar, connected, no longer isolated or alone.

Today, I am now a graduate at Lee Senior High School, a freshman at East Carolina University, and the proud owner of a starting brand “AphyllianArts”. I have a YouTube channel being started up and accounts with Instagram and Patreon. I plan to create content through these platforms and make myself a name, to go from there.

The Billie Elmore Art Scholarship was awarded to Carleigh Flynn, graduate of Southern Lee High School.

My full name is Carleigh Teigan Flynn, and I’ve been drawing ever since I was like two years old (I’m almost eighteen). I was the first student from Lee County Schools to represent at the North Carolina Governor’s School in the Visual Arts category. I plan on specializing in Illustration while getting a BFA at East Carolina University, where I was accepted into the Art and Design Living Learning Community, which is housed in the Garrett Dorm, right next to the fine arts center. Most of my art is representational, and I really enjoy including humans and portraits. My favorite mediums are watercolor and pencil/ink. When I get out of college, I plan on illustrating children’s books, although teaching art or owning my own studio and hosting classes would be other career choices. 

2017 Scholarship Recipient
The Billie Elmore Art Scholarship was awarded to Jingshi “Joyce” Liang, graduate of Southern Lee High School.

Jingshi Liang, born in 1997 in China, is a self-taught artist who is still experiencing her own style, which has been changed significantly when she stopped watching anime. Jingshi is known as a “slow worker” among her artist friends. She used to spend more than a week working on a pair of earrings in the piece “Hanfu.” Jingshi’s work received several awards in Lee County Art Show. She graduated from Southern Lee High School in 2017, and is accepted by Maryland Institute College of Art.  Featured artwork is “The Girl in Hanfu.”