Because Riverton High School senior Lydia Cannon has only been studying art for three years, she was surprised when her oil on canvas piece “Sliver of Light” was not only one of just 300 accepted into the highly competitive and prestigious Utah All-State High School Art Show, but that it also won multiple awards.

“Sliver of Light” won third place in the Utah Senate Visual Art Awards, a Fourth Congressional District Honorable Mention and a Midway Art Association Materials Award.

“For me, and I think what it is like for a lot of other artists, it really is just a big confidence booster, in a way, being able to be recognized on that high of a level just means so much to me, especially because I've really only gotten into art the past three years in high school, and so to see that I've come this far and received these awards with all these amazing high school artists, it just really puts a boost on my confidence and a boost on my drive to continue my art career and do that as a living in the future,” Cannon said.

In addition to bragging rights, the awards came with cash prizes and a gift card for art supplies.

The oil on canvas piece was Cannon’s first attempt at an oil portrait. The subject of the piece is a young girl she taught in India. Twice, Cannon has visited an Indian village to teach English to the children. That experience has been so impactful that it has inspired every piece in her AP art portfolio, which highlights the village’s beauty and culture.

“It really changed my life and the people there really just had such an impact on me,” she said. “And so I did that picture of her and then I named it ‘Sliver of Light’ because of the lighting that she has shining on her face and how that kind of represents the sliver of light that I found in that place. They all live in such poverty. They lived in little shacks and had nothing to their names, and yet they were just so sweet and just so giving and you could just really see the light in their lives. It was just so inspiring to me, and it really changed my life, and so that's why I titled it ‘Sliver of Light.’”

Cannon had a piece of art accepted into last year’s show.

Riverton High School had 10 students’ artwork accepted into this year’s show, the most the school has ever had in one year, Cannon said.

One other Riverton High School student won an award; Kaya Monson’s photograph “Abuelo” won a Jurors’ Choice Award. λ

The 53rd Annual Utah All-State High School Art Show features artwork by local high school artists including:

Bingham High School: Isaac Mitchell, Tess Petersen, Alyssa Barrett and Erin Grimshaw (two pieces)

Erin Grimshaw won the Outstanding Student of the Year Award. Her piece “Young Siren” won a Jurors’ Choice Award, a Fourth Congressional District Award, the Artists Nosh Award and a Lyon Arts Studio Award.

Her piece “Labeled” won a Jurors’ Award of Merit.

Copper Hills High School: Callie Reyes, Brandon Koller, Kennedy Fuell, Leo Holt, Savili Simanu, Zoe Hein, Michael Milner and Mars Lawson

Callie Reyes’s “Cutting Ties” won a Utah Senate Visual Art Honorable Mention, a Lyon Arts Studio Award, a Sentient Academy Scholarship and a USBE Purchase Award.

Brandon Koller’s “Multnomah Falls” won a Midway Art Association Materials Award.

Zoe Hein’s “Dialed In” won a USBE Purchase Award.

Herriman High School: Abaigael Langston, Amanda Morales, Elijah Baker, Isabella Freeman, Nhi Trang, Saylor Sanders, Sofia Kim, Stella Smuin and Susanna Bruening 

Isabella Freeman’s piece “I Believed in God in 2008” won the Pilar Pobil Legacy Award.

Mountain Ridge High School: Braden Wilcox, Cambryn Vance, Elizabeth Barton, Kate Butterfield and Mckenzie Goodwin

Both Cambryn Vance’s “Reminiscing a Joyful Splash” and Braden Wilcox’s “Paper Patriot” won an Honorable Mention.

Providence Hall High School: Morgan Vaas

Riverton High School: Cash Swenson, Ella Nordfelt, Kaitlin Killian, Kaya Monson, Spencer Cameron, Lillian Dickes, Lydia Cannon, Miranda Johnson, Rachel Jessen and Olive Grgich Morse

Kaya Monson’s “Abuelo” won a Jurors’ Choice Award.

Lydia Cannon’s “Sliver of Light” earned a Fourth Congressional District Honorable Mention, third place in the Utah Senate Visual Art Awards and a Midway Art Association Materials Award.

West Jordan High School: Nicolas Allen, Porter Blair and Porter Melton