Guernsey Students Prize

I came across this location when I was kayaking and realised that the strong composition with leading lines and a range of different tones and colours would be good to paint. I used photographs to capture the image from different viewpoints, so that I could later refer to the structure and texture of the rocks and sea. I painted with acrylic on canvas and used square ended brushes and palette knives to apply the paint in varying thicknesses.

This is a painting inspired by the changing architecture in our world. I was influenced by the artist Cathy Read who captures the old and new architecture present around her to reflect on the change in her art. Included in this paining is the Old war office building, a major site for British history, constructed with traditional materials and classical architectural features, compared with 30 St Mary Axe (The Gherkin), a newly built skyscraper well known for its modern use of glass, steel and smooth lines.

A landscape painting to show the beauty of my favorite place. To encourage people to see how picturesque our surroundings are.

(Bar)Bie represents the ‘end of Barbie’, and the influence of other media which exposes children to beauty standards at a younger age. Bie, a Frankenstein-like mismatch of desired features in Western Society, is surrounded by her ‘Empire’ of skincare products as she sits on her throne. A young girl looks up at her in two mirrors copying her, whilst the same girl sits in the background with Bie on her shoulder, acting as an influential voice. The work is supposed to evoke a questioning attitude when it comes to thinking about the age with which children should be exposed to social media, or when and if they should be given the opportunity to copy influencers online, for example: creating skincare or makeup routines with products which may be harmful to their young skin. The composition is deliberately laid out in such a way that Bie could easily have just been stumbled upon in an attic somewhere, where she has been hidden away. Whilst at the same time, it could show her Empire of material things, and how it could continue to grow and multiply. The idea of this is to leave the decision for viewers – to decide whether to embrace Bie and the influence the media is having over young children, or to shove her into the attic, preventing any further damage to future generations.

I created this painting to show the energy of a bee in motion and the calm beauty of flowers. Using bright acrylics, I wanted to capture the feeling of spring and how even small creatures play a big role in nature. It’s a simple moment, but one that reminds me to appreciate the little things.

A colourful shell painting developed for A level art, inspired by fauvist influences. Combining acrylic paint for the shells forms with PVA and ink for a wave-like background, aiming to create a scene of shells within their natural environment.

Images displaying tension and the pressures of being tied to life, as feelings of dissociation increase.

A mixed media piece featuring sculpted rocks using modroc, a square mirror, acetate depicting a photograph I took and acrylic paint. On canvas board.

This piece was my final 15 hour exam for the end of my A-level project. This project was centred around the idea of skin as a natural texture. Throughout the project I explored how skin as a texture is viewed by society in the media and through artwork. I found it interesting to see the lengths people would go to reverse aging of their skin or to remove things like cellulite and other marks of the human experience told by the skin. From this I really wanted to create a piece that celebrates the skin as a texture of nature, and something that is changed through our lives as this beautiful tapestry of our own personal triumphs, rather than something simply made to remain porcelain and perfect. And I thought what is a more perfect example of this than a mother. Women’s bodies and skin in particular are so heavily criticised by ourselves and others, and I was so inspired by these stories of mothers whose skin had changed through motherhood, with wrinkles and excess skin, scars and stretch marks. Many of those mothers became insecure and down about this change, which I think is a crime of humanity, to have created this culture of perfection in place of celebration of how these women’s bodies have created life! So this peices depicts my own mum, who has been through four births with five children. Her skin may not be perfect in the eyes of some, but I hope that in the piece I have been able to highlight the immense beauty laid in her skin through the exaggeration of certain colour. In this way I want you to see her ‘true colours’, imperfect and organic, that show her strength, her love and her beauty as a mother, and how her skin will tell you that story.

An optical illusion portrait inspired by the works of Escher.

My photograph shows three family members that have their faces layered and some cut out. This shows how similar people in family’s look and how everyone is linked together

Inspired by the artists Amber Jane Raab and Maja Wrońska I created this watercolour painting depicting the Town Church in St Peter Port. My piece combines both Guernsey past and present, using old and new photos as inspiration. Blended images and local symbols further depict the character of Guernsey and our connection to island life through the ages.

Using the theme of “Rough and Smooth”, I have painted an abstract representation of a rusty skip that I photographed outside a supermarket in St Sampsons. I edited the photo to help visualise the colours I was going to use for the painting. The artist I took inspiration from for this painting was Jasper Johns, which is why I included the numbers. I enjoyed exploring the theme of “Rough and Smooth” as it gave me the opportunity to consider the surface qualities captured in the photo and the marks I was making. This is why I painted the numbers in stripes with a pallet knife, to try and make those parts of the painting have a rougher texture to them, this is also partly why I included chalk pastels in my piece, as they tend to create quite a smooth looking texture.

Inspired by Art Nouveu depicting the beauty of nature and composition.

This painting explores the movement of people and the energy of the city through colour, capturing the rhythm of crowds and their connection to the city.

This artwork aims to encompass the idea of childhood memories that fade away. The piece combines two of my personal childhood memories, with one blending into the other to represent the impermanence of memories and how many can blur together and get lost over time.

This is an oil painting of my Mum (Louise Nippers) display the rich culture behind her represented by artefacts like paintings and photos showing what you can’t see from just her face.

A generational photo with eight family members

Piece created for A-level art inspired by photography of cells under a microscope and petri dishes. Materials used include handmade wool pom-poms, resin petri dishes with ink and circular oil paintings inspired by the dishes.

From the main creative idea of “music”, I developed a thorough investigation into the significance of the people within musical ensembles and devised a project on the portrayal of the musicality in the community of talented instrumentalists in Guernsey. The principal portrayal throughout this project has been the interdependence of the musicians; the interaction between the subject and their musical object, moreover their reliance and importance within the musical ensemble.

The piece was inspired by my visit to the Lofoten Islands in Northern Norway, Oct.23. The composition represents an escape, a portal into a new world, with pieces from my travels combined, where essentially everything is perfect. The hummingbirds represent my Nana, who we lost in 2021 to cancer, it was her dream to visit Norway, though never got the chance, so we went for her. The centre of the work is a fjord, where the land meets the sea, if I were to visit my nana somewhere someday, it would be here.

The concept for this work was the idea of memories leaving a path behind someone, building them into who they are and who they will be. This is symbolised in footprints leading up to a figure kneeling on the beach and looking towards the horizon, symbolising the future. Setting the painting at the beach was important for my idea of using footprints, whilst also a serene view of nature, which fits the meaning of the painting. Guernsey has many aesthetically pleasing beaches, so it was to take advantage of what’s available to me. My reference for the figure is a great friend of mine for many years and it felt fitting to use her in a piece about memories as I have been a part of many for her. We are parting ways for different schools next year, looking forward into what’s to come is important. She also has hair with many colours in, which looks good when hit by sunlight, which is one of my favourite parts about this painting and I thought I executed well. I used a mixture of brush sizes and styles to get a variety of detailing; a good example of this contrast is the difference between the sky and sand. This technique with a spectrum of colour also made the distance in the painting more obvious, putting depth into it instead of being flat, this shows how the landscape stretches back.

A piece to show my father’s identity, through the use of photography and an interview, which I used quotes from when adding words to the image of his face.

There is a lone alligator just under the surface of the water that breaks through the green and light reflections as it takes its eyes. It blends nearly with the environment in which it exists and stands in silence, a silent element in the water.

Close up pencil drawing of my take of Ophelia from hamlet floating down the river

A painting of my aunt’s dogs done in the style of Hiroki Takeda

This portrait of a girl was inspired by my friend from Ukraine who came to Guernsey at the beginning of the war. I wanted to capture what I thought the emotions of someone caught in conflict could be. I included a symbolic background with the representation of the ruins in Mariupol, the colours of the Ukrainian flag, together with the burning car to represent the loss of normal life.