Owner of local business McPhersons Parts and Service, David Thompson, requested the artwork from nine-year-old Alana Finnegan to contribute to her drought relief efforts.

“Dar [David] saw it and asked if I could paint a blue tractor and donate some of the money to the farmers for the drought.

“I wanted to, I liked the idea and I started painting.”

David said after he and his team saw Alana’s agricultural paintings on Facebook they rang her mother, Michelle, and said they were interested in a tractor.

“We knew she was doing it for drought relief, so we said ‘if she can paint us a New Holland tractor, we want to buy it’,” David said.

“If she is having a go, we want to get involved as well.

“We are giving her $500 for her exceptional painting to donate to whatever drought relief fund she wants and she has chosen Rural Aid.”

A member of Parkes’ “The Little Art Company” for five years, Alana loves painting.

She googled an image of a blue New Holland tractor and got to work.

“The painting took me about three or four days,” she said.

“I painted for a couple of hours in the afternoons after school and we sent progress photos to McPhersons.”

Alana also sells postcards of her other paintings to raise money for drought relief.

“Some of the money I donate to Buy a Bale and some I keep for printing costs,” she said.

“This money I’m donating to Rural Aid because it’s more for the farmers than food for the animals.”

And her next big project?

“At the moment I am doing a request from my Nan,” she said.

“It’s a still life of a water jug and some flowers.

Rural Aid was founded in 2015 to provide a central point of focus for rural communities who require assistance. The charity operates on a nationwide basis.

Source: Parkes Champion-Post