Rebecca uses mechanical pencils, the type that use lead refills, but also draws with ball point pen and gel pens. She used her gel pens so much that they ran out of ink within a week and a half. But she uses other media too.

In the summer of 2004, she used face paint and drew designs on her horse, Peggy, for a parade at a horse camp she attended.
“It was hard to wash out,” she admits though the work definitely attracted attention from other riders and their parents.

So far she hasn’t taken any formal lessons except for art class at school. This past year, when she had art as an elective, she was able to try watercolour with good results.

Rebecca, who admires the work of Salvador Dali, says she intends to enter the Alternative Arts Festival again in 2006. “It’s a great contest and it’s great to see the other talent,” she says.

Like Rebecca, senior winner Tom Dean started drawing when he was a child. However, he only became truly interested in art when he was 17. “My grandmother encouraged me to do a painting a day for 100 days,” he notes.