A TALENTED young artist has been shortlisted as part of a prestigious national competition after impressing judges with her lockdown creations.

Ella Sambrook, 19, is from Colchester, but currently she is pursuing her passion in London, where she is studying at the Royal Drawing School.

After the lockdown was put in place, due to Covid-19, The Arts Society launched the Isolation Artwork competition, encouraging artists to use the pandemic as a stimulus.

Inspired by the current anxiety-inducing situation, Ella leapt at the chance to get creative and have her work critiqued by top industry professionals.

Many of the works explore feelings of uncertainty, isolation, and loneliness, and use materials ranging from acrylics and pencils.

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Visionary painter and drawer Ella, however, decided to use tree stumps as her canvases, manipulating the isolation into an opportunity to reconnect with nature, before letting it seep into her art.

“Lockdown has inspired me to become more in touch with my surroundings, considering how the natural environment makes me feel and how we need to strive to protect it,” she said.

“All the work I have made has been from materials I already had in my home and I have made my own surfaces to paint on from natural materials.”

Ella’s thought-provoking and artistic expression of her experience during lockdown has now been shortlisted by The Arts Society, alongside just seven other pieces.

Depicting a figure painted on a black tree stump, her entry is entitled, Shinrin Yoku, which was influenced by a form of nature therapy called forest bathing.

More specifically, Ella describes it as a "holistic way of healing the body and mind through forming a deep connection to nature by just being and breathing."

Her tree stump painting is now being exhibited as part of a virtual exhibition hosted on The Arts Society’s website, where members of the public are encouraged to vote for their favourite piece.

Ella, who studied at the Colchester Sixth Form College, says she cannot wait to see what people think of her artistic creations.

"It is such an amazing opportunity to have my work viewed and I’m excited to share my work and I love that it’s able to be appreciated and impactful to others," added Ella.

"Drawing and art has always been part of my life, and I find it a way to explore my thought processes, even more so over the lockdown period."

The Arts Society Isolation Artwork competition's overall winner will be announced on July 7.

If Ella is lucky enough to scoop the top prize, her artwork will be featured on The Arts Society Membership card 2021, and she will also receive a £50 Cass Art voucher.

To view Ella’s artwork and cast your vote, visit connected.theartssociety.org.