By Theresia Titus
Iona College teacher Jordan Andreotta has last month won The Lester Prize 2019 People’s Choice Award for his drawing of Presentation Sister Flora Ricupero, titled Sr Flora.
Mr Andreotta, who is Head of Production Arts at Iona Presentation College, won $7,500 in cash which was kindly donated by the Baldock Family – who have been involved with the prestigious prize for the past four years – after receiving nearly 10 per cent of the total votes submitted.
More than 4,353 people cast their vote in the People’s Choice Award, which was available online and at the Art Gallery of WA’s (AGWA) Centenary Galleries exhibition of the 40 finalists.
Speaking to The eRecord, Mr Andreotta said he was “absolutely thrilled” to have won the Award as “it was a sign that many people were able to connect with the artwork”.
“I felt very appreciative of everyone that had voted for the portrait and had supported my journey as an artist,” he said.
Talking about the portraiture, Mr Andreotta aimed to portray Sr Ricupero “in a contemplative pose, capturing her presence that staff, students and the community know her for”, as she was recently retired from the College.
“Her gaze and facial expression, as she looks back on all of her experiences, reflects a life of compassion, joy and purpose,” Mr Andreotta said.
“Sr Flora has an inspiring story and I wanted to share it with a wider audience. Up until her recent retirement, she had taught in schools all over Western Australia since the mid-sixties.
“Her work in education brings together much of what is exciting and precious to her: sharing a laugh, creating a sense that each person is infinitely important and building with others an ever-expanding community which gives us purpose, meaning and joy,” he continued.
Mr Andreotta explained that he rendered the portraiture in graphite and white pencil “to evoke a sense of nostalgia in the artwork as this is a reflective portrait”.
“My pencil drawings tend to take influence from the concept sketches of Leonardo Da Vinci as I’m interested in the way he utilises fine detail to capture tone, shape and form within his compositions,” Mr Andreotta added.
It took one week for him to complete the artwork, spending most of one weekend followed by smaller evening sessions.
“I created preparatory sketches and conducted interviews with Sr Flora in the lead up as I was trying to figure out how I was going to best capture her through a portrait,” he said.
Art has been a part of Mr Andreotta’s life since early childhood with portraiture drawing being his interest.
“I like to work in portraiture because the subject matter is something that viewers can easily relate to and feel an emotional connection to,” Mr Andreotta said.
“When teaching students how to create a portrait, I tend to focus on the importance of the subject’s facial expressions, body language, clothing and accessories, as these aspects can work together to form a narrative about the person.
“I encourage students to explore themes that they have a strong connection to as this makes the work more authentic and real to them,” he explained.
Mr Andreotta also mentioned that by teaching visual art at the College, he has realised the significance of the Arts within the society “as it encourages the development of communication, innovation and creativity”.
“I enjoy being in a creative environment where I can discuss concepts and the technical aspects with students. The students often inspire me as much as I inspire them,” he concluded.