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COOS BAY - Art is everywhere in the Zamora home.

Most of the pieces hanging on the walls, including acrylic paintings, watercolors and ink drawings, belong to 17-year-old Arielle. She counted nine, including some pieces of painted pottery.

But the pair of musical instruments that needed to be moved to find a place to sit down, a guitar and a harp, those belong to her brother, Zach, a recent graduate.

Arielle, a junior at Marshfield High School, is the winner of Vision 2007, an annual high school art competition held by Coos Art Museum and the Southwestern Oregon Community College Foundation. She won Best of Show for “Concrete Reef,” a colorful acrylic painting of a row of buildings. The award includes $250 and a two-year tuition waiver to the college.

“I knew I wanted to use bright colors,” Arielle said, describing how she changed the colors in a picture she found on the Internet to brighten it. “I'm guessing the building is in Europe somewhere.”

Arielle's bold use of color in the painting was the key reason it was chosen for the award, according to James Fritz, an art instructor at Southwestern and a member of the jury that selected the winners. Fritz said Arielle used color and contrast with a daring and professional flair, showing “an approach to painting and color that exceeds the grasp of most high school students.”

Arielle, who never had art classes outside of Coos Bay schools, said she likes to use color because it shows her personality. She painted “Concrete Reef” during art class, working about 45 minutes a day over 13 weeks - but only when she was happy.

“I wouldn't paint when I was in a bad mood,” Arielle said Tuesday. “Painting really reflects on your mood. It's hard to do when you're angry. I would go back to my black-and-white stuff when I was in a lesser mood.”

Arielle became interested in art because of her sister, Jasmine, a student at the Art Institute of Portland.

“I always liked to watch her paint and draw, and that inspired me to get into something I was good at,” she said.

But Jasmine was out of the house already when Arielle started painting seriously two years ago. Since then Arielle has explored a variety of styles, techniques and subject matter, lending an element of balance to the pieces that serve as decor in her family's home.

Her parents, Joe, a chef, and Jody, own and operate the Hilltop House in North Bend. Arielle also has a younger sister, Tessa, an eighth-grader.

Aside from painting, Arielle is also active in singing, as president of her school choir and a member of a jazz group, and plays varsity tennis.

Initially planning to follow her sister to an art school, Arielle said she doesn't want to give up music and wants to go to a college that has good programs in art and choir - perhaps Southern Oregon University, after filling some credits at Southwestern.

Her painting also will be going to Southwestern, when the Vision exhibit concludes April 21. Arielle also has a series of ink drawings in the exhibit.

Aside from her own work, Arielle's favorite in the exhibit is “Forbidden,” a pastel painting by John Castaldi of Bandon that won first place in the 10th grade division, the same award that Arielle won last year when John won Best of Show.

Also notable is “Blue Guillotine,” an acrylic painting by Heng Shao of Brookings-Harbor High School, which won first place in the 12th grade division and got the loudest cheers at the awards reception Feb. 23. The piece is right next to “Concrete Reef,” and the combination of the two made that corner of the Uno Richter Atrium most popular at the opening, according to former museum director MJ Koreiva.

Back at the Zamora home, it's hard to find a common element among Arielle's diverse works, except two of the nine depict flowers.

“I love flowers,” Arielle said. “If all else fails, I can be a gardener.”