Jayden's artistic gift

Nickolai Madray

Jayden Ali secured the top spot in the recent art contest at the Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket awards ceremony for the San Francique Presbyterian School when he brought his passion for cricket to life in a painting. The tiny, seven-year-old artist stole the spotlight with his winning piece, as invited guests at the awards function last Friday were overwhelmed by the talent he possessed.

Jayden told Newsday Kids he was inspired by his aunt who taught him how to paint and draw at the age of five, during the time he was transitioning from pre-school into primary school. “Usually I will sit with her to draw, colour and entertain myself with different crafts and activities. She guides me along the right path and allows me to add my creative twist on projects we work on together.”

The Standard One artist attends Samuel Badree’s Academy of Sports Education (BASE) and is a right-handed batsman. The theme of his project was based on the different shapes he is learning at school such as triangles, squares and circles. The painting detailed the emotions involved in the game of cricket, especially at the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), where he first fell in-love with the sport because of the atmosphere around the stadium.

Jayden used paint, Bristol board, stencils and glue to put his project together. He said sometimes he got frustrated because things were not going as planned or what he pictured the outcome to be. But he persevered and was able to complete and submit his work of art and was rewarded for his hard work and dedication.

His teacher Brendon Ramlal won the Teacher’s award at the event and he said he was very proud of Jayden’s ability to use the knowledge he gained from the classroom into his painting.