Visual Arts Finalists
Yashar M
Prouille Catholic Primary School, Wahroonga
Stage ES1 1st Place
I drew and painted this piece because I love the earth. God created the world with all the countries, rivers and lakes, ocean. mountains and lands. It is magnificent how God made the earth. The world brings me joy.
Luke M
Mackillop Catholic Primary School, Warnervale
Stage ES1 2nd Place
This is a picture of Mary MacKillop. She is a saint who made a lot of people happy and brought a lot of joy. My school is named after her because she was so good to everyone and made them happy. She said, "Finding happiness is making other people happy."
Ariana
P
Stage ES1 3rd Place
St John the Apostle Catholic Primary School, Narraweena
My painting has lots of bright colours and that makes me joyful. God made all the colours in the world.
Julian W
St
Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Manly
Stage 1 1st Place
My artwork symbolises Jesus, the light of the world, who brings love and joy to all. The rising sun reminds me of Jesus rising from the dead on Easter Sunday. On this joyful day, Jesus gives us hope that one day we may be in heaven with Him. The sun provides warmth and life just as the love of Jesus does. The beauty of God's creation can be seen in the rising and setting of the sun. This is a gift of joy to His people. I used watercolour as water is a symbol of life and through the waters of Baptism, we become part of God's family, the Church. The hands represent Jesus reaching out and spreading joy to the world.
Ivo B
St
Thomas’ Catholic Primary School, Willoughby
Stage 1 2nd Place
The God of hope will fill everybody on earth with joy. Even in heaven. He keeps us in his sacred heart. If we trust in God he gives us hope, chances, joy and brings us together. If we trust in him he helps us love each other more. He gives us strength. Just like mother Mary and Joseph trusted in God. They also love and care for us and all people on earth. Their hearts are connected with the sacred heart of Jesus.
Molly B
Stage 1 3rd Place
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Catholic Primary School, West Pymble
"My artwork has some trees with green leaves and some animals like a bunny, a fox, birds, stingray, fish and a dolphin. I love watching animals everywhere it brings me joy. The animals in the picture and the nature make me happy because I like watching the sunset and I like to see animals. It all brings me joy. God made the whole world. He created all the plants and animals but we have been knocking things down and when we replant things that brings joy.
I hope people see a very happy painting and that they feel joyful. "
Emily C
Stage 2 1st Place
St Martin de Porres Catholic Primary School, Davidson
For the drawing I used the alcohol markers pens and paint markers. Firstly, I sketched the animals with a pencil. Next, I outlined it with a pen after I coloured it with the alcohol markers and added some paint markers to finish it.
This drawing is about animals playing instruments, being joyful and having fun with their friends. I chose these instruments because each one of my friends plays one of those instruments. My friends always bring joy to me. I created this artwork because I wanted to include what made me joyful. I chose the animals because I love them and they have always made me happy. I enjoy the passage from Psalm 33:3, “Sing to Him a new song; Play skilfully with a shout of joy”. I feel that I do this in my life to be closer to God. I play three instruments. I play piano, clarinet and the recorder.
Summer P
Maria Regina Catholic Primary School, Avalon
Stage 2 2nd Place
When I experience joy, I feel happiness like a little spark in me is about to explode. I feel free like I’m floating on happiness. On my Confirmation Day I felt filled with the hope and joy of God. I felt nervous at first, but after our blessing I felt like a dove. The ceremony made me feel closer to my friends, and to the Church. When the service was over everyone was happy and taking photos. I felt famous. I used my photograph for composition to project onto my canvas. It was blurry but helped me to get my shapes into proportion. I couldn’t believe how long the painting process took. Layer on layer, weekend by weekend, detail by detail. Blending paints to create new colours was fascinating and I didn’t expect to use my ruler so much! Can you spot the 10 hidden words in the stained-glass windows?
Annabelle Z
Stage 2 3rd Place
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Catholic Primary School, West Pymble
Rays of Joy
In this piece, I have symbolised joy by drawing a picture of me praying. Praying makes me feel happy and safe, because when I pray to God he feels like a part of my life.
This picture is from my point of view when praying. There is a love heart which represents God, from which the yellow rays of warm sunlight shine hope, and joy down to Earth.
The bright colours used throughout bring me joy, with beautiful blue sky and pink flowers.
Ovindhi H
St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, East Gosford
Stage 3 1st Place
In the wonderful quote- ‘May the God of hope fill you with happiness’, I saw the word ‘fill’ and the first thing that came to my mind was God filling a glass with water. And I thought of flowers because flowers make me happy.
Matisse M
St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Manly
Stage 3 2nd Place
This is a drawing of me and my friend Ev. We have been friends for 7 years and her friendship brings me true joy. In this artwork we love joking around together and drawing pictures. A good friend is always there for you no matter what and makes you happy. I believe that true friendship is joy and I thank God for giving me this joy. Having such a strong friendship is so important in life, it's so special to have a friend that is filled with so much joy. In this picture, we are laughing because I just said something really funny. My artwork displays joy because it shows me (on the right) and (Evelyn in the left) together enjoying each others company.
Amelia D
Stage 3 3rd Place
St Bernard's Catholic Primary School, Berowra Heights
Jesus promised his disciples that their hearts would rejoice with a joy that could never be taken from them (John 16:22), and he promises us the same joy. This is the resurrection joy, the inexpressible, glorious exultation in the risen Christ. In my artwork I used eggshells as eggs are a symbol of resurrection. When the tomb of Jesus is open, it is empty. From this, everything begins anew! This new joyous beginning is symbolised by the sunrise in my artwork where anything and everything is possible. Resurrection is about turning sorrow into joy. The pain is intense, but relatively short- lived, and what comes after is a lasting and even-moreintense joy. The Bible teaches us that joy is a gift from God to be celebrated and shared with others. I have depicted this by showing a family dancing and rejoicing together, heart full of gratitude, hope and peace.
Aidan D
St Leo's Catholic College, Wahroonga
Stage 4 1st Place
This artwork that has been created efortlessly represents the theme, joy and has multiple reasons to prove it. For example, the bright and detailed sunset has been executed in a way that you can only understand when viewing the artwork. The sheer tones and contrast between the hills and trees makes the artwork deeply efective. This sunset represents joy as the yellows and light oranges, as well as deep purples and violets, which are joyful colours.
Another example of why this artwork unarguably represents and demonstrates joy is that the three people and the dog represent our family, as we are at our favourite holiday destination, on Four Mile Beach. We are running with our dog on the beach as the sun sets and it makes us feel joy on such a joyous evening. To summarise, this artwork is a well executed and visually appealing piece, and brings happiness when you look at it.
Lennox S
St Paul's Catholic College, Manly
Title: For the Joy of the Game
Stage 4 2nd Place
In our world today there are few places where we gather, like Church or School, and celebrate joyfully. My artwork is a painting and photo collage, capturing a moment of joy and hops during the 2012 premiership AFL game.
Look past the image of Adam Goodes and focus on the faces of people who show the atmosphere, culture and spirt of community.
St Paul recognised the spirituality in everyday life and that is why I chose to paint this joyful scene.
Camilla P
Mater Maria Catholic College, Warriewood
Stage 4 3rd Place
My artwork depicts the joy found in sharing meals with family and friends. It has been created using animated and colourful techniques to highlight the joy I feel when we sit and enjoy eating and conversing with each other. My Grandmother always reinforced the significance of sharing meals as ritual and an important part of my …culture. This artwork was inspired by our Catholic faith’s celebration of the Eucharist which translates to a time of giving thanks. The act of gratitude also brings me joy and is a gentle reminder that being grateful for my friends, family and the food I have, is important to recognise each day.
Indianna M
Mater
Maria Catholic College, Warriewood
Stage 5 1st Place
My artwork of a child laughing out loud reflects joy and pure happiness. Drawn in lead pencil, the tonal and repetitive linear qualities capture the emotions and realistic expressions of the sitter, my brother. He brings joy to reminded that we are “all created in God’s
The artwork represents family and love we share, ultimately leading to joy contentment. “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. (Psalm 126:2-3) is encapsulated in my artwork through the moment of laughter I have captured.
Kascia L
St Peter's Catholic College, Tuggerah
Stage 5 2nd Place
"My joy in life comes from the things I love, such as drawing, animals, and my best friend. They say you see God in the people around you and the people you love, and I see God in my friend Alison. When Alison makes me happy or brings me joy, it also feels as though God is there giving me that joy.
I have a special connection and fascination with animals such as jellyfish and birds, I own a bird myself and the love and joy a pet gives you is neverending. God connects to my joy through the diferent people and things that I love and love me."
Tamati N
St
Paul's Catholic College, Manly
Title: The Joy of the Sacrament of the Body of Christ
Stage 5 3rd Place
My artwork shows an image of a young child taking the sacrament of the Body of Christ. The other things that are depicted are a Priest and a lovely church setting with a quote. Therefore joy is shown through the joy of the child taking the Body of Christ. In addition to Roman’s (15:13) I chose Roman’s 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
As you continue to place your trust in God, He will continue to fill your heart with joy, peace, and a hope that overflows into the lives of the people around you”
This quote compliments my artwork explaining what is happening through the materials I used being coloured pencils and paper.