Gordon Harris Award for Best Painting by a Junior Artist

15 year old Jamie Lewis carried off the Gordon Harris Award for Best Painting by a Junior Artist for the second year running with his watercolour painting, Snowy Mountain Ranges .



Jamie Lewis won this award for the second consecutive year.

Jamie: Snowy Mountain Ranges was the piece I most enjoyed painting for Splash, because of the colours and vibe the picture gives off. The sea appears smooth and soft, reflecting the skies lovely light blue.

During the process of painting, I found that keeping the paint, brush and paper wet was crucial to give a vibrant yet soft feel. The water was done with fast and loose strokes,
similar to a wash. The mountains above were painted with the same blue to add shadows and shape.
The most frustrating thing was the trees in the foreground. Getting the shape and thickness of the branches right took a lot of effort, but it sure was worth it in the end!

Judges comment: This is a very mature painting for a young painter. The subdued, cool view feels accurate and makes me think this young painter has much more to offer.

Our Other Juniour Artists

Danie Poe

Danie was born in a refugee camp in Thailand. Her mother was a refugee from Myanmar, and is of the Karen people. Danie came to New Zealand at the age of 6 and is doing very well at Randwick School in Lower Hutt. Her mother says she is paints at every opportunity, even on fish and chips paper! Danie has had no formal lessons but joins Peter Coates for some painting occasionally. Danie: I am keen to make paintings that mean something, like global warming. I think in my head about what inspires me to paint. I want to learn technique and be a good artist. Her painting Me and my Sister hangs on the wall in her room.

Kaylee Hislop-Croft

Kaylee has been taking classes with Alfred Memelink at his gallery, Alfred Memelink Artspace in Petone for a year. She has graduated from the childrens class to an adult class at the age of 10. Kaylees mother is absolutely delighted that her daughter is passionate about painting. Kaylee says I love how the paint goes on the page. Its really relaxing. My favourite is painting landscapes. She begins life at St. Orans school in 2018 and plans to take art as a subject in future.

Max Wootton

Max is 13 years old and attends Rudolf Steiner School. His watercolour teacher, Philp Markham describes him as very focussed and hard-working. Maxs father is a conservationist and has fostered in Max a great interest in nature. It was Maxs idea to paint the New Zealand falcon, the Karearea. He researched photos and then worked hard to create the painting.

Sophie Burgess

Sophies school asked their students to paint a self-portrait. Sophie found this challenging, so she started classes at Alfred Memelink Artspace during 2017. Now, at 14, she has come top of her school art class and is mustard keen. She entered paintings of Whitby Inlet and Spring Flowers in Splash2017.

Samuel Hanks

Samuels painting Stormy Day in Wellington was taken from a photo he took himself, looking across the harbour. As a 15 year old at St.Patricks College in Kilbirnie, he has selected art as one of his subjects for 2018. He has been learning with Alfred Memelink for about a year. He prefers watercolour over oils as the colours do their own thing.


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