Alexa's special gift

JARED JOHANN YOUNG, the son of Newsday's associate editor Carol Quash, came up with the idea to feature the artistic talents of one of his class mates. He conducted his first interview, via WhatsApp, and wrote this article.

Alexa Loutan was unable to buy her mother a Mothers’ Day gift this year because of the shopping restrictions caused by covid19. So, the 12-year-old decided to use one of her natural gifts to make sure the day was still special for her mom, Marian Sooknanan.

“I wanted to at least do a card for her, and my cousin and I decided we would draw flowers for our moms,” the budding artist told Newsday Kids. “It took about 25 to 30 minutes for the most to complete.” And as it turned out, it is her favourite piece of all the many works of art she has done. Her mother loved it too.

Alexa, of Tacarigua, said she has been drawing for a “long time” and has never had any formal training. “I like to draw because it is fun and relaxing. I don’t draw every day. More like every other day. Sometimes I paint, but I mostly do drawings. If I have to do paintings, I sometimes do sunsets because I like to blend my colours together to make the painting look really colourful and nice.”

So what is her favourite thing to draw? “Nature. I love to draw flowers and trees. I draw faces sometimes.”

The standard five student is preparing to do the SEA exam and was very disappointed when it was postponed because of the coronavirus. “But quarantine is not all that stressful because there is lots of stuff to do. Drawing, games, schoolwork, chores, visiting my grandmother, having fun with my two younger sisters.”

She is looking forward to attending secondary school and has decided on Lakshmi Girls’ Hindu College as her first choice. And although she doesn’t plan on ever giving up on her artistic ability, Alexa said she also wants to be a medical engineer when she grows up.