Year 11 student Taya Parfitt has just won the Secondary School Diary Art Competition run by Openbook Howden Print and Design.
Her work was selected from many entries around the country and will be printed on the front cover of diaries used by students across Australia.
Taya is an Aboriginal student who chose to create a dot painting on canvas with a twist.
“I did not want to use the traditional colours and I wanted to use lots of different colours to make it look more colourful,” she said.
“I chose to do a frog on a lily pad and the idea is based on some pictures that I took during a visit to a natural park.”
Taya said thirsty Aboriginal people, who knew exactly how to meet their needs in the harsh and forbidding environment of the desert, used frogs as a source of water.
“This is why I wanted my painting to be a form of respect to the frogs,” she said.
The judging panel said Taya’s design was inspirational and showed an incredible attention to detail.
To add to Southern River College’s big win, year 11 student Kristelle Holden was named runner-up in the competition and will have her work printed on the inside cover.
Her design is a contemporary artwork that captures the audience’s eye by utilising both her interests of space and marine life.
It was created with Autodesk and Taya used skills and techniques applied using a graphics tablet.
“Being runner up in a national art competition is unbelievable to me and the acknowledgment that the work has received is unreal,” she said.
“It’s a reassurance that I’m going down the right path.”
Head of the Arts, Dusty Ward said the calibre of both works was outstanding and is a testament to the student’s creative talents.
“Taya’s artwork is vibrant, upbeat and shows a strong connection with nature,” she said.
“Her passion for painting is clearly evident in the work which meshes traditional Aboriginal dot painting style with a contemporary use of non-traditional colours.
“Kristelle’s artwork is well composed and the way she has created depth by layering imagery shows a sophisticated understanding of visual language.
“Her artwork shows her skills are excellent and well beyond her years.”
