The Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition Competition is once again underway and includes a piece of art created by New Richmond High School junior Ellie Arkus.
Her colored pencil drawing titled “Carnival Floor” was selected out of over 900 submissions from the Southwest Ohio Region to move forward from round one, New Richmond High School art teacher Amy Hauserman said.
“This is a fantastic accomplishment. Competing with students from Hamilton, Butler, Warren, Clermont, Brown, Clinton, Highland, and Adams Counties, her drawing was one of only 145 works to move forward from our region,” she said.
Carnival Floor is a colored pencil rendering based on a theme as part of an assignment in Mrs. Hauserman’s Advanced Art class. Students were assigned to create eight artworks concentrating on one specific theme.
The font Sweet Mia served as the playful inspiration for Carnival Floor. For Ellie, the font inspired visions of a carnival-like atmosphere complete with candies and candy wrappers. While simplistic to the untrained eye, Ellie’s drawing is very complex.
“This was probably one of the hardest, most detailed drawings I’ve done because of all the little pieces and getting the proportions right,” she said. “I was kind of surprised that it won because there are so many entries.”
The surface textures Ellie created give the artwork depth, Mrs. Hauserman said. The items depicted look natural.
“Ellie is an overachiever. Obviously, she’s in three classes of art this semester alone. She puts as much heart and soul into each class,” Mrs. Hauserman said. “She takes it all seriously, has a good time with it but expects the best of herself. She always pushes herself to grow and that makes it fun for me.”
Because of the pandemic, art show competition opportunities have been limited this school year. During the 2019-2020 school year, before the pandemic, Ellie enjoyed an incredible level of success that included winning first place in the third annual Cincinnati High School Art Students Plein Air Art Show and first place in the 2020 Clermont County Spring Litter Clean-Up Logo Design Contest.
In the spring of 2020, Ellie also had an artwork that won at the regional level of the Ohio Governor's Youth Art Exhibition. The artwork advanced to the state-level competition before the show came to a screeching halt after the coronavirus pandemic hit. This year’s show is virtual and is not expected to be interrupted.