BOUNTIFUL—Bountiful High senior Amanda Brown uses her talent in digital art to capture the emotions of those around her. The talented artist was recently awarded “Best of Show” in the Northern Utah High School Arts Competition and given a $7,500 scholarship to use for college.

“I was super surprised when I won,” said Brown. “There were tons of mediums and so many cool artists there.”

The Northern Utah High School Arts Competition is an art exhibition of the finest work from high school seniors in Davis, Rich, Cache, Box Elder and Weber counties. It is on display at the Eccles Community Arts Center in Ogden. “It is a cool house with all this artwork around it,” said Brown.

Her piece “Reflection” is of a girl looking at her reflection, said Brown. “It’s your inspiration and perception of yourself and how other people view you.”

Brown said her ideas for her art come from many places. “I find inspiration online or from the world around me then I draw it. I started out with pencils when I first learned to draw. During COVID I started doing digital art and tried other mediums to see what I liked and I liked digital the best.”

To create her work Brown said she uses an iPad. “I also use the Procreate app. You can draw whatever you like and make your own brushes.”

“She’s an incredible talent,” said Danna Sides, Brown’s art teacher at Bountiful High. “You rarely see a student with that ability and technique.”

Amanda’s just great to have in class, said Sides. “She’s very humble. She has an artist’s voice and vocabulary for exploring the emotion in her paintings and digital work. You can see the sadness and joy in the eyes and face of the girl in ‘Reflection.’”

Brown plans to go to either the University of Utah or BYU and major in fine arts. “I haven’t decided which one yet,” she said. “I’ll major in fine arts but then I might be directed to something else.”

She recently won an award at the Springville art show and at the BDAC as well.

Art is not her only passion. “I’m in band, choir, track and cross country,” said Brown. “I’m also taking AP Classes and I’m in the honor society.”

Six other Davis School District students won awards in the art competition:

• Averie Neil of Clearfield High won an Award of Merit and a $2,000 scholarship for the piece “Navie”

• Nelia Mislang-Darden of Northridge High won an Award of Merit and a $2,000 scholarship for the piece “My Nkisi Power Figure”

• Anna Stephenson of Woods Cross High won an Award of Merit and a $2,000 scholarship for the piece “Faceless Daisy”

• Tommy Potter of Northridge High won an Art Center Award and a $1,000 scholarship for the piece “Dragon Celadon”

• Ellie Fowers of Northridge High won a Juror’s Award and a $1,500 scholarship for the piece “Inevitable End”

• Hannah Taylor of Farmington High won a Juror’s Award and a $1,500 scholarship for the piece “My Still Life”

A virtual tour of the Northern Utah High School Arts Competition is available at https://bit.ly/3WCo3W3.