Twenty-eight young artists ranging in ages from one all the way up to 10 submitted colorful works of art in the Patriot’s 2021 Independence Day Coloring contest sponsored by Sherburne State Bank.

Youngster Elizabeth Gellert (Age 3) of Clear Lake used soft colors and filled the entire page with reds, yellows, oranges, blues and greens. She even gave the 4th of July dog a black top hat.

Rylee Ammend (Age 6) of Big Lake went bold in their piece of art, depicting a black sky with gold, blue, purple and orange fireworks exploding in the sky. The dog was colored in a rich red and featured a gold tooth in the front.

Joshua Irlbeck (Age 10) of Sanborn received his entrant at the family’s lake home address in Clear Lake and went with a subtle approach that impressed the judges at Sherburne State Bank. He colored the dog brown and even gave his collar badge a number four. He also kept his coloring “in the lines”.

The Patriot and Sherburne State Bank want to thank all the participants and look forward to seeing more Picassos wield those crayons in a future contest.

The winners were to pick up their works of art as well as their prizes at the bank by the end of the week. The Clear Lake winners received certificates to Briggs Lake General Store valued at $15 each. The Big Lake winner received a certificate to Fudgin’ Delicious Ice Cream, valued at $15.