JESSICA Baraclough, a Kloof High School pupil, was commissioned to paint a portrait of South Africa’s beloved late Madiba for the school.
She was born with an artistic flair and over the years has honed her skills in the field. Jessica has always been passionate about art and in Grade 3 and Grade 7 she won the art award.
Lindsey Mackenzie, a teacher at the school, had initially asked me to paint a picture of her two children and that is how the idea of me painting a picture of Mandela came about. It took me, on and off between school work and studying, about three months to complete,” said Jessica.
The picture she used as a reference for the art piece is the one now used on South Africa’s bank notes. “I found the original picture on the internet and it was in colour so it made it a lot easier for me to work with. I will use this as one of my final matric art pieces,” said Jessica.
According to Dawn Lefort, the principal of Kloof High School, the art piece will be placed in a prominent position at the school. “We have to recognise his passion for both education and children and place it somewhere to emphasise that. We are delighted to have such a talented pupil at the school and what I love about the piece is she has been able to capture the essence of Madiba, with the most powerful part of the painting being the expression on his face,” said Dawn.
Jessica said she has applied to study film and media at UCT.
