My favourite type of art is painting and drawing. There's something about a pencil or brush in hand that no other medium touches. The physicality of it, the happy accidents, the smeared bit that ends up being the best part of the whole piece. What gets me is the light. Chasing how it falls, how it lies, how it makes ordinary surfaces do extraordinary things. Steadman knew. Hunter S. Thompson knew. And I have a feeling, Johnny, you know too.

For me, inspiration hides in the ordinary. A crack in a wall, the way rain hits a window, a stranger's expression on the subway. Other artists are my biggest fuel too. Painters like Modigliani, who chased beauty even when life was chaos, remind me that making art is an act of defiance. Inspiration isn't something you wait for. It's something you hunt down, drag into the studio, and put on the canvas before it escapes.

As a first generation student, this prize would make continuing my education possible, something my family never had the chance to do. A portion would go toward creative programs for local children in the community who've never held a paintbrush, because every child deserves a language of their own. Art has the power to heal and connect. This money wouldn't just change my life. It would ripple outward into every community I touch through my work. Art belongs to everyone, and so does opportunity.