Aspiring young artist from Yukon wins national student art competition

'I was really surprised when I got that far,’ said 14-year-old Farrow MacDougall from Dawson City

‘What does your Canada look like?’

That was a challenge young artists across the country participating in the sixth annual Canadian Art Inspiration Student Challenge had to answer.

Farrow MacDougall, 14, from Dawson City, Yukon, responded to the question with her winning work, Tombstone Mountains.

“I wanted to express the calm, magical aspect that Yukon has. Especially with all the patterns, I wanted to lean into a whimsical vibe that [the] Tombstone [range] has,” said MacDougall.

MacDougall's watercolour and pencil crayon piece took first place in the Grades 7-9 category. Submissions had to draw inspiration from other famous Canadian pieces of art. MacDougall’s inspiration was Annie Pootoogook’s Family Camping on the Land.

Tombstone Mountains is among 12 works from the competition that will be displayed from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1 at Art Toronto, one of Canada’s largest international art fairs.

Now a Grade 10 student at Robert Service School, MacDougall said she has been drawing for as long as she can remember. She has piles of sketchbooks, but sharing her works is something she rarely does.

And getting national recognition is something she certainly didn’t expect.

“I was really surprised when I got that far. I don’t think it was as good as the other pieces,” MacDougall said.

“I didn’t really like it at first [and] I thought it wasn’t really worthy of an award. But I’ve warmed up to it since my parents are really proud of me. I guess it is pretty cool now.”

MacDougall’s art teacher Angela Edmunds says her student is really humble.

“She might be nervous to show how much excitement that she had for it, but I think it actually really touched her,” said Edmunds, who’s also the school’s vice-principal.

Edmunds says she's proud MacDougall chose to submit her work.

“We often do little gallery walks in art class … but I think it’s a bigger deal when you can put your artwork into a Canada-wide challenge.”

Both Edmunds and MacDougall say art is about creation, and while comeptitions can serve as inspiration, it's not solely about winning.

“If I see it as art and not an award, I think I will like it a lot more,” MacDougall said.

Edmunds says her student has a "soft spot for animals, especially bears" and that she looks forward to seeing MacDougall meld art and science "to inspire other people or to inspire change.”

MacDougall says she wants to raise awareness on environmental issues through her art.

“I care a lot about the Earth, and and I think art is a really good catalyst for expression.”

As for this piece in particular, she highlighted the relationship between humans and animals.

“In Tombstone, it feels like you’re the only person there. For the bear, I wanted it to seem like you’re looking at it ... and you notice that you’re not just alone. There are so many other animals that are living beside you,” MacDougall explained.

“I like it being kind of empty. It helped represent the solidarity that the Yukon has.”

The young artist is now planning to attend the Toronto exhibit.

“I think it will feel a little surreal. Like, ‘That’s mine. And people are looking at it!',” MacDougall said. “It’s cool to let people see and enjoy what I make because art can be made for multiple people.”

Hyunjung Kim is a CBC reporter based in Dawson City, Yukon. If you have a story idea you'd like to share, you can reach her at hyunjung.kim@cbc.ca