Rutherford Technology High School's very own Juliette Kostalova has been named a finalist in the Young Archie competition.
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The 17-year-old has had her hard work and talent recognised at a national level before finishing high school; an achievement few can claim.
Ms Kostalova's self-portrait Solus, which was created specifically for the competition, is now on display in the Art Gallery of NSW.
She is one of 70 finalists from more than 2,400 entries across Australia.
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Ms Kostalova said she feels very excited and honoured to be named a finalist.
She said Solus takes inspiration from experiencing the pandemic.
"It's about my inspirations from COVID, I spent a lot of time doing things I like and I can see how I've changed," she said.
Ms Kostalova was surprised with the great news by her mum as she was coming home from work.
"She was very excited also," she said.
Ms Kostalova has traditionally created realist-style art, and used this opportunity as a chance to branch into surrealism.
"I made my features bigger and more exaggerated and experimented with colour," she said.
Coloured pencils were her medium of choice to create the portrait, and it was entered in the 16-18-year-old category.
The Kostalova family are planning on heading to Sydney to see the portrait hanging in the gallery on the weekend the winners are announced.
Ms Kostalova first heard about the competition from her art teachers, who were very excited when they found out about her finalist status.
She plans to continue pursuing art when she finishes school.
Young Archie is a junior version of the Archibald Prize, which is the best-known art prize in Australia.
This year is the 10th year of the competition, and a record number of entries were submitted as well as the largest number of finalists ever exhibited in the Art Gallery of NSW.
The competition is open each year to young people aged five to 18.
The winner of the Young Archie competition will be announced Saturday, June 18. The entire gallery of Young Archie finalists can be viewed at www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/prizes/young-archie/2022/.
The finalist portraits will be on exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW until Wednesday, August 24.
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