Jillian Gross draws pictures based on her many different moods and experiences. She’s 9-years-old, so her experiences and pictures are uncomplicated and refreshing.
A hot summer day features watermelon and sprinklers in one drawing. A snowy day shows a snow angel and a snowman in another. Her seasonal drawings were all entries in an online art contest that her mother, Linda Gross, stumbled upon last year.
“She’s always doing art, so I saw this online and I encouraged her to enter it,” said Linda Gross.
Linda Gross thought a little recognition and competition would fuel Jillian's love for art even more, and she was right. Jillian has turned her pictures into more than just doodles pinned up on the refrigerator.
"She's pretty self-motivated," said Tianna Marris, Jillian's fourth-grade art teacher at Cardinal Forest Elementary in Springfield.
Jillian entered the AccuWeather Art Challenge and won a third place prize. She entered again, and won again, and again — the same third place prize. Now Jillian is determined to place higher in the next contest she enters.
“She’s won three stinking T-shirts,” said Linda Gross.
Every two months, accuweather.com hosts the contest. A weather topic is given, and children in three different age categories compete for first, second and third place prizes. The Web site posts all of the winning pictures online as part of winners' prizes.
"I want to get at least second place," said Jillian.
The T-shirts aren't very exciting, she said. They look more like the blank canvas that Jillian creates her masterpieces on: plain and white. The shirts remind her to keep trying, though, and to stay motivated. A second place prize would mean $25, and first place earns $50 in gift cards.
Jillian sits at a desk upstairs in her family’s home when she draws. She uses colored pencils instead of crayons or markers, because she likes the way they look on paper.
“She's definitely interested in art outside of the classroom," said Marris. "I'm proud of her for pursuing it."
In class, Marris assigns topics and techniques. She said Jillian usually takes each assignment and "runs with it." Some of her work is thought-out and carefully executed. Others are simpler in their creation.
“I just thought of this one cause I was bored,” said Jillian, of her drawing of a girl floating on a leaf in autumn.
Since Northern Virginia has experienced warm and snow-less winters recently, the winter season picture topic left Jillian with only her imagination as her inspiration. She said she has almost forgotten what it’s like to play in the snow.
“I put a little guess in it, cause we never get snow,” she said. "I like making snow angels."
Jillian said she'd like to continue her love for art into adulthood.
"I want to be an art teacher or a zoo-keeper," she said.