Thank you for giving us this opportunity to see the magnificent artworks of all of these children. We have taken the responsibility of assessing and judging each artwork very seriously. It was a difficult task as we would love to have awarded first place to all of the participants for such thoughtful, well executed and heartfelt works.
Our message to all of the participants is as follows:
Congratulations to all of the participants, your artworks brought us great joy and insight into the environmental themes you chose to represent so creatively.
We are heartened by the fact that so many of you have messages of hope and positivity towards conserving our planet’s treasured oceans into the future. The ideas and creativity demonstrated in each of the artworks is exemplary.
You are all winners in our eyes. We feel that the conservation of oceans will be in very safe hands when you all become adults. We hope you will all continue to create beautiful and inspiring artworks. You have definitely inspired us.
[ Tina Wilson & Matt Ottley ]
Tina Wilson
Tina Wilson is a professional author/illustrator/artist/narrator with a passion for picture books. Tina has worked as a freelance artist/designer for publishers and clients across Australia for over 25 years and was the founder and Executive Director for ten years of Australia’s third richest portrait prize, the Lester Prize. She has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia and the City of Perth Premier’s Active Citizenship Award for her services to the arts. Tina has recently released a unique children’s picture book series called Monkey’s Great Adventures, which is part of Matt Ottley’s ‘The Sound of Picture Books’ initiative, and has been performed live with musicians across Australia. Tina lives in a rainforest in New South Wales and moves between painting, drawing, writing, running art workshops … and drinking chai!
www.tinawilsonartist.com
Instagram: @tinawilsonartist
Matt Ottley
Matt Ottley is an internationally acclaimed and multiple award-winning artist, author and composer, with more than forty picture books to his name. He is recognised for creating works that help others see things from a different perspective. His illustrations and music are multi-layered, resonant with emotion, and have been described as ‘transcendent’.
As a composer, and an Endorsed Yamaha musician, Matt has written scores for many of his picture books as part of his initiative called ‘The Sound of Picture Books™’. These have been performed by orchestras and musicians across Australia and internationally.
Matt is the Australian nominee (illustrator) for the Hans Christian Andersen Award 2024, the highest international distinction given to the creators of children’s books, awarded every second year to an author and an illustrator whose complete works have made an important, lasting contribution to children’s literature.
www.mattottley.com
Instagram: @mattottleyart
