Photo: Miranda Hutchings

An Armstrong woman's search for an artist who painted a portrait of her deceased sister has spanned almost two decades.

Back in 1999, an arts student from Pleasant Valley Secondary School drew five dot portraits of the students who were all tragically taken in car accidents that year. Miranda Hutchings' sister, Nicole, was one of those students killed in the two crashes that year.

Hutchings managed to get a picture of the portrait a couple years later, and she has been searching for the artist ever since.

"I have been looking for nearly 17 years following leads but I have had no luck," she says. "I would like to connect with the artist to show my thanks."

The two car accidents within three months of each other, which made 1999 a tough year for the Armstrong community. The other students who lost their lives in the crashes were James Masters, Jason Elliot, Robert Sturt and Bern Luttmerding.

PVSS had a healing balloon ceremony at the end of that school year, where hundreds of white balloons were released into the sky to honour the five students who had passed. Nicole's dot portrait was on display for the ceremony, along with portraits of the other four students.

"I want the other families affected by these tragedies to have copies of these portraits," says Hutchings. "A lot of them haven't seen them, or don't remember seeing them, according to the ones I've connected with."

If you know who the artist may be, or if you have any information about the portraits, you can email Miranda at [email protected].