Kaylee Parker, a senior at Charles Henderson High School, is the winner of the Troy Arts Council’s 2016 Jean Lake Scholarship.

Pat Duke, TAC scholarship chair, said Parker is an outstanding young artist who plans a career that will include art.

“The Troy Arts Council congratulates Kaylee as the winner of our annual Jean Lake Scholarship,” Duke said. “Kaylee is a four-year art student at Charles Henderson High School. The portfolio she submitted for the scholarship competition is outstanding.”

Kaylee expressed appreciation to Duke and the Troy Arts Council for the scholarship award.

“It is an honor to receive the Jean Lake Scholarship,” she said. “I want to thank the members of the Troy Arts Council for the confidence they have shown in me and in my work.”

Duke said the Jean Lake Scholarships are in the amount of $2,000, payable to the recipient in increments of $500 in four consecutive semesters.

“The requirement of the scholarship is that the winner take at least one art class a semester,” Duke said. “The scholarship funds are paid to the winner. Some of the past recipients of the Jean Lake Scholarship have used the money for supplies and books. Each applicant for the TAC scholarship submits a portfolio that includes artwork from a specific area of concentration and also works of the artist’s choice.”

Duke said Parker’s artwork is interesting, very well done and demonstrates the scope of her creativity

“Kaylee’s interest is in biology and she plans a career in the medical field, perhaps in medical illustration, ” Duke said. “In her concentration area, she used body parts as her subjects and turned them into works of art.”

Parker said she is fascinated by the art of the human anatomy.

“So, in my concentration, I wanted to include my love for anatomy with my love for painting,” she said. “Each painting represents what comes to mind when I think of that specific body part.”

In her concentration pieces, Parker’s emotional attachment to the artwork is evident through the use of color and floral elements.

“In Kardia, I used darker, more neutral colors for the background, because neutral colors are the starting point of all color schemes,” she said. “That’s also true of the heart in the human body. Everything flows from the heart. I used a pink flowers to show the beauty of the heart.”

Parker is an honor student at Charles Henderson High School. She participates in a wide range of extracurricular activities at school as well as church and community activities.

She is a varsity cheerleader, Yearbook sports editor, Key Club public relations officer, a member of the Spanish Club, Interact Club, Drama Club, Future Business Leaders of America and the Art Guild.

She has volunteered at the Elementary Age Cheerleader Camp, the CHHS Fall Festival and at Troy Regional Medical Center Fall Festival.

Parker is a member of the Collegedale Church of Christ and the church youth group. She is also a craft worker at her church.

She plans to attend Troy University and major in biology and minor in art.

The Jean Lake Scholarship has been awarded annually since Lake’s death in 1976. Lake was a highly regarded contemporary folk artist. Her work is in private collections throughout the country.