Young artist draws on her talent
WHEN a child brings artwork home from school, it's easy to assume it will be fairly basic.
Maybe some stick figures, a few dashes of colour and a nice big, bright sun.
But that's not always the case, especially for Tia Elsayed.
At just 10 years of age the Minyama girl has been painting for several years and is showing remarkable ability.
She's been going to art lessons since she was eight and her teacher Julie Bunting can't speak highly enough of her.
"Tia from the very beginning was just so into what she was doing," she said.
"She's very passionate about her work.
"She lives in that moment of bringing it to life."
This concentration, along with a healthy dose of patience is what Tia's mum Rowya thinks makes Tia so good.
"She really focuses. She finds that time for herself."
Considering the time it takes to finish one of these little masterpieces, patience is an absolute must.
"Since I was little I loved drawing and tracing," Tia said.
Her talents burst from canvases all around the Elsayed family home but perhaps nowhere more so than the enormous charcoal lion which holds pride of place in her parents' room.
She found the original photo in a magazine, then spent 10 weeks perfecting the regal beast.
Rowya said art lessons had been an expensive way to decorate their house, but it was worthwhile.
"It's worth it if it's something that she loves," she said.
"Everybody's got their own little thing and this is hers," she said.
