Young artist making her mark
Published:Thursday | December 17, 2020 | 12:07 AMNadine Wilson-Harris/Staff Reporter
With several strokes from a cotton swab, 13-year-old artist Danielle-Ashley Cameron has brought life to the countless drawings occupying her scrapbooks, journals and scraps of paper.
Cameron started drawing stickmen at seven years old, but quickly graduated to creating more realistic objects as she mastered her shading, sketching and colouring skills. Instead of using her fingers, the self-taught artist uses her cotton swab to shade.
While many children are dying for face-to-face classes to resume, to rescue them from the boredom that sets in at home, the young artist has been occupied putting together art pieces which have so far won her two notable recognitions.
“If I am in a lesson, I can’t draw because that would distract me. If it’s a free time, I would just do a quick sketching to relax myself,” she told The Gleaner.
The St Hugh’s High School student placed second out of 25 students in her school’s art competition last month. She also entered the Art House Online gallery competition, which showcases artists from around the world, and was awarded a merit certificate of recognition for a COVID-19-themed piece. The art features a girl wearing a blouse with the message, ‘Six feet apart or six feet deep’.
“It is pretty much to warm people about remembering how to stay safe during COVID, staying six feet apart, social distancing, because you need to make sure you don’t pass on the disease or get it from other people,” she explained.
Cameron admits that she is not good at painting, but she intends to master this craft, along with creating sculpture pieces from clay, in the near future. For now, she is focused on using her crayons, markers and cotton swabs to create eye-catching pieces.
The teen intends to pursue art as a career and her mother, Vanessa Lewin, has been giving her full support to ensure she achieves this dream.
“One thing I’ve always said is, it’s best to support your kids on doing what they like, you will get the best out of them,” said Lewin.
She said Cameron’s father, Omar, has also been supportive, and both have ensured that their daughter gets the necessary supplies to do her craft. Lewin also researches competitions for her daughter to enter so that she can showcase her skills. She was the one who encouraged her daughter to enter the Art House Online gallery competition last month.
“A friend sent it to me and said, your daughter draws really well, so why not have her enter in competitions, just to get her art out there,” she said.
Cameron attends her school’s art club online, as well at the Anglican Youth Fellowship. Her love for art has not distracted her from her schoolwork, and she hopes this will continue to be the case.
“You want to get the good marks,” said Cameron, who got a gold seal for her academic performance last school term.