Jenny Coopes facts for kids
Jenny Coopes, born in 1945 in New South Wales, Australia, is a famous Australian artist. She is known for her amazing political cartoons, illustrations, and paintings. She also draws cartoons for a law magazine called the Justinian.
The Art of Jenny Coopes
Learning and Drawing
Jenny Coopes studied art at the Brisbane Technical Art College. Later, she went to the University of New South Wales. While there, she drew cartoons for the student newspaper, Tharunka. Jenny says she "stumbled" into drawing political cartoons. But she became very good at it and made a career from her art. This was a big deal because in the 1970s, she was the only female cartoonist working in Australian newspapers!
She worked for many newspapers in the 1970s. Most of her time was spent at the National Times from 1977 to the 1980s. In 1984, she started drawing for Fairfax newspapers in Sydney. These included the well-known Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Financial Review.
Winning Big Awards
Jenny Coopes has won many important awards for her work. In 1985, she made history by becoming the first woman to win a Walkley Award. This award is a very big honor for journalists and artists in Australia. She won for Best Illustration for her cartoon in the National Times. It was called "His Honour, The Prisoner."
She won another Walkley Award for Best Illustration in 1989. Jenny's third win was for Best Cartoon. This was also special because in the same year, Fiona Lawrence won for Best Illustration. This meant it was the first time two women won in the visual art categories at the Walkley Awards.
