Patonga artist supports junior portrait prize

Patonga artist Ms Jocelyn Maughan has thrown her support behind the About Face, the Gosford Junior Portrait Prize.

"The competition gets students to do an observation drawing of someone they know, which means they are really looking and learning to draw," Ms Maughan said.

"Learning to see and learning to draw are very much intertwined," she added.

The portrait prize is being held for the third consecutive year at Gosford Regional Gallery.

The competition gives children of the Central Coast aged between 5 and 18 years the opportunity to submit drawings and have them displayed for the public eye.

Ms Maughan's ongoing support for the competition rests on her determination to provide children with the same encouragement and opportunities she was afforded as a young girl.

"It's about giving back and giving other people the same opportunities I had," she said.

Ms Maughan has found the process of working with children as well as seniors to develop their drawing skills to be an enjoyable and rewarding process.

"I get a lot of fun out of it.

"I do give to the children but I get a lot back."

In her childhood, Ms Maughan submitted her drawings to small drawing competitions hosted by the Sun Herald and Myers.

"I still have all of those drawings and that's really where it all started for me," she said.

Ms Maughan expressed her love for drawing, which has always held an important place in her career and her heart.

"If we went out on a family picnic, the sketchbooks were packed up and came along with us," she said.

Ms Maughan believes it is important for young children to be exposed to opportunities such as this to develop their skills and interests.

"There's so much competition for sport and even in music and dance but not for drawing," she said.

"I love sport, but I think it's important that children get the opportunity to experience everything so that they can work out what they want to do later in life," she said.

SOURCE:

Interview, 11 Jan 2018

Jocelyn Maughan, Patonga

Reporter: Olivana Smith-Lathouris