A local illustrator has won a prestigious award for her depiction of her home town on the Suffolk Coast.

Eastern Daily Press: Paula White, from Lowestoft won this year's Templar Illustration Prize. Picture: ContributedPaula White, from Lowestoft won this year's Templar Illustration Prize. Picture: Contributed (Image: Archant)

Drawing from the refreshing sea breeze, silky sand and her family history by the water, artist Paula White, 44, secured this year's Templar illustration prize for her Lowestoft-inspired artwork.

The theme for this year's competition was 'where I come from' and her children's book submission - Bread, Buns and Biscuits took the prize. The book is inspired by her family who had lived and worked on the most easterly point of the country.

According to the author, while both sides of her family were seafarers the tale is based on her grandfather Percy who went against the grain and stopped working out at sea to become a baker.

Ms White, who studied children's book illustration at Anglia Ruskin University, describes the winning submission as "tale of everyday life in the fishing village" that was once thriving in Lowestoft.

Eastern Daily Press: Her illustrations are of Lowestoft. Picture: ContributedHer illustrations are of Lowestoft. Picture: Contributed (Image: Archant)

"It recreates a vanished way of life, describing the daily lives of a hard-working, close-knit fishing community.

"Sadly, the busy and bustling beach village would come to an end. After major flooding and two World Wars, the people of the village saw their way of life change.

"Many of the fishermen had lost their boats in the war and many of their houses were damaged and the Great Floods in 1953 were the final blow for the beach village. Salt water seeped into the small cottages and houses, which eventually had to be pulled down before they crumbled,

"I know that through my research and discovery of my own heritage, I feel proud of my home town and appreciate how hard my relatives worked to make a living in very different times. It makes me feel grounded," she said.

One of the judges, Lucia Gaggiotti said: "Paula White writes poems through images.

"Her work evokes smells, tastes, and sounds that have almost disappeared.

"Her pencil fades away like the traditions of the village from which she comes from, but slight touches of colour give life and hope to a possible present - to stories that never die."