Kelsey was the youngest of 10 grade-level winners honored recently by the Estate of James Campbell during a reception at Kapolei Hale. The artwork of all 47 finalists will be on display in the lobby of Kapolei Hale, 1000 Uluhia St., from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Nov. 22.

Of the winners, Kelsey, Leanne Nagai, 12, and Zedrik Dana, 18, were singled out with scholarship awards to attend art classes at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

The judges were Fern Kashiwabara, Karen Lucas and Douglas "McD" Philpotts.

Kelsey, daughter of Michelle and Nathan Niitani, hopes the news of her first-place finish will make her dad happy. Nathan Niitani, a Kaua'i native, is an Army reservist assigned to the 29th Infantry Division (Light) and is training in El Paso, Texas, for deployment in February. A message was left for him Tuesday night.

David Andrew Sakihara, son of Harold and Denise Sakihara, also did a self-portrait with oil pastels. Although he prefers doing math to art, David was pleased with his project except for one detail. "I was trying to make it smile but it came out looking angry," he said.

Kristen Balanza, son of Maria and Albert Balanza, won with a painting of a yellow tang fish. The tang, however, is done in multiple colors, none of which is yellow. "I just wanted to do different colors," he said. "This is my first time (winning). It makes you want to do some more art."

Food was the theme for pals Kimberly Kaai and Leanne Nagai.

Leanne said the two chose food painting for the class art project because "it was close to lunch."

Her parents, Sharon and Walter Nagai, admit they couldn't tell that their daughter's painting illustrated mashed potatoes and pork chops. "It looked like something to do with space," Sharon Nagai said. "I guess it's abstract."

Like the Nagais, who were having fun, Kimberly was trying to explain what her entry represented. "It's actually dripping chocolate from a cake," said Kimberly, the daughter of John and Kathy Kaai. "I saw it in a magazine."

Damien Valencia, son of Regina and Joseph Espinoza, won with a black-and-white photo showing sunlight coming through a slightly opened door in a darkened hallway. He shot it outside of Room C101 at Pearl City High. "I like the different shapes," he said. "It's my best so far."

Joel Fernando of Kapolei High had two entries and won with a painting of a ballerina, which he did in two hours. "It's from two pictures I saw in a book and I had fun doing it," said Joel, the son of Vivian Fernando.

The prize winner for Zedrik Dana, son of Johnathan and Helen Dana, was a painting of his art teacher's granddaughter. "I'd call it 'Waking Baby,'" said Zedrik, who plans to major in art at Hawai'i Pacific University. He has been painting for about three years and is a repeat winner in the Leeward contest.