By Danielle Galvin
MORE than 6000 Australian students entered into an art competition, but a life-like sketch of a poverty-stricken young child has won Cranbourne North teen Dilawar Haidarie first place.
The 16-year-old entered his striking sketch of a toddler in the Write4fun art competition.
“The child from my perspective should be looking poor and poverty is something we must look at. And I wanted to show it from my view,” he said.
The little girl in the drawing is covered by a hooded blanket, and is holding a finger to her mouth.
“The drawing has been shaded and shadowed. The thing that inspires me is poverty. A straight photo of a baby came into my mind and then I did a rough sketch of it,” he said.
Dilawar is modest about his artistic abilities, but was thrilled to take out first place.
“It feels amazing to win this competition. I never thought I could win but I did try my best, and it was worth it,” he said.
The Lyndhurst Secondary College student has always been fond of lifelike drawings.
“Since I was nine years old, I have been interested in art.”
He hopes to study civil engineering when he graduates from high school but wants to continue to sketch realistic drawings of the things that inspire him.
“I never thought about (art) as a career because I thought I was not good enough. But I have already picked my VCE subjects and I want to draw for fun.”
Winners in the Write4fun competition share $1000 with their high school and choose from an Apple iPod Nano, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS or Sony Digital Camera.
Upcoming writers can enter into the Schools Writing Competition with their best short story or poem.
Students around Australia are encouraged to enter into the competition by 12 August and people of all ages are invited to apply.