A special ceremony was held during assembly at Southern River College this week, where year 12 student Monique Zampogna presented her portrait artwork of former Australian cricketer, John Inverarity.
Mr Inverarity is now an ambassador for the Teach for Australia, which reached out to the school to commission the live portrait.
Monique has completed several portraits previously, but her first commission had the added element of time-pressure, painting John while he was being interviewed, live on zoom.
“I was very aware of the amount of time and it was stressful to complete but I had to step back every now and then to enjoy the process. Over all, I was happy with the final result and hoped others were too,” Monique said.
Visual Art and Media teacher Kate Bonser organised for Monique to do the commission, and said the portrait was the next step in supporting her growth in the commercial field.
“Monique has made me so proud, her dedication to the design process, applying tough feedback and her willingness to work with outside agencies in such a professional manner has exceeded my expectations,” she said.
For Monique, the experience was an exciting first step in her professional career as an artist.
“It feels like a big step for my future as I felt like a proper artist and feel more confident in myself and my work,” she said.
“Art is a very big part of my life as it’s a way for me to express my interests and inspirations. I will always make sure to have time to develop and create more paintings.”
