Student Services

Determination

Entry A

11” x 14”, drawing with charcoal and colored pencil

This colored pencil and charcoal drawing is one of a Great Horned Owl. I chose to use charcoal for the head to contrast the fiery yellow eye of the owl to further the look of determination in its eyes. The use of the monochromatic background serves to highlight the bright colors and amplify the subject. I was inspired by the realistic animal artist, Kirsty Partridge, who does not limit herself to one medium but uses all kinds of mediums to bring her drawings to life. Many times she uses two mediums that are not normally put together like watercolor and colored pencils so that she can illustrate the effect she is trying to display in her art. I used this same technique and added gouache to the background and the middle of the eyes, which is a flat black, to give even more depth to my piece.

More Than a Foundation

Entry B

12″x14″, Paper, Graphite and Charcoal

This drawing of the rustic castle, surrounded by rocks, and floating on an uprooted island, is my visual interpretation of a quote from J.R.R Tolkien!s Mythopoeia. It says, “I will not walk with your progressive apes, erect and sapient, before them gapes the dark abyss to which their progress tends.” Tolkien believed heavily in foreknowledge: the idea that, all things that humans come to know, realize, or imagine, are all memories that have been stored in the back of their minds and that are being unlocked; In other words, all the knowledge that people gain is knowledge that they already possess. He used this ideology to fortify his belief in the mythological world. If all knowledge contained by humans are memories, then the creatures that people deem as being “mythical” must have existed at some point in time otherwise, we would have no recollection of their appearance or behavior. Tolkien!s conflict in the poem was that once people become too fixated on the progression of man, science, and the material world, they lose sight of the past and the truth of the past that myths contain within them. Once this happens, the past crumbles and they lose sight of the future. The castle upon the floating island represents the fantasy world in Tolkien’s poem, and the black shading surrounding the floating island is representative of the dark abyss to which the progress of mankind is headed. The idea is that once you refuse to believe that myths contain truth within them, then you are subject to slip off the edge of the rock and into the dark abyss of nothingness—a place where there is no future because a future cannot exist without the past behind it. The castle and the rock were drawn with graphite pencils, a blending cloth, and an eraser pencil, and the background of the illustration was drawn with pure charcoal and a blending cloth. An artist who inspires me is Feliks Kaparachuk.

Temple of Artemis

Entry C

12″ x 18″, Graphite

My art piece was inspired by a reference of the Greek Temple Artemis. I really focused on value in pencil shading while also using this project as a study in perspective. In school, we studied Greek architecture and style of columns, so this was an intriguing subject to draw.

The Apple

Entry D

11″x14″, Graphite and paper

I was always fond of still-life pieces. I think they show a desire to capture and preserve moments in an impermanent world, a response to the brevity of life. In creating this graphite drawing, I was influenced by Jean Siméon Chardin, particularly his ability to find and create beauty even in simple, everyday objects. I was inspired by the way he was able to make the objects in his art feel alive, with the softness of lines and how each item draws you to the next. Much like that of Chardin’s, through “The Apple,” I hope to convey a sense of quietness and appreciation for the simple things in life.

Liam on my mind

Entry E

10.5 x 13.5, Graphite

I created this piece while in art class under the guidance of my teacher, but as far as I know, there was no artist that influenced the project.

Light Passes Through

Entry F

10×14 (16×20 with matte), Graphite, white charcoal, grey toned paper,

This drawing of an elk skull was done in Tre Colore, with graphite and white charcoal pencil on gray toned paper. During my time on this project, our class referenced Georgia O’Keeffe’s southwest paintings, particularly Cow’s Skull: Red, White, and Blue. I admire the depth she was able to create while retaining simplicity. Another major influence of this piece was our curriculum creator and Atalie artist, who taught me to use contrast to bring life to my drawings. While working on this piece, I was particularly captivated by the light coming through the cavities in the skull. It drew attention to its hollowness and helped it distinguish itself from the background.

Ivan Borzoisky

Entry G

16″ by 20″, pastels on suede paper

I took inspiration (and my reference photo) for this piece from Paul Croes, an animal photographer who has a whole collection dedicated to dogs. This was great for me because primarily, I’m a major dog person, and secondarily, every year my art teacher Mrs. Mier encourages me to submit a piece for our local dog show’s art competition. His works, as a whole, are so well composed that I would have considered it a crime not to take inspiration from him. With his Borzoi photos as a reference (with his permission), my goal was to make this piece as unnecessarily dramatic as possible. As such, I drew attention to the dog’s head and body with more extreme lights and darks, with some fog and blur to obscure his paws. I wanted to keep everything simple yet effective, so I kept the background minimalistic.

Window to the Soul

Entry H

12″x9″, Graphite on 100% cotton paper

Inspiration is drawn from John Singer Sargent.

Neblina de Playa

Entry I 

10.5 x 14.5, chalk pastels

N/A

Untitled

Entry J

9” x 12”, White and black charcoal pencils on charcoal paper

This piece is a hand study I completed with white and black charcoal pencils. I tried to capture both the structure of the hand as well as the dramatic light and shadow present. I did this by trying different positions in a dark room with the door a jar.
The inspiration for this project came from the work of Caravaggio. He made beautiful depictions of human life by contrasting light and dark areas.
In Genesis 1:3-4 the Bible tells us “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.” (NKJV). I hope to honor God who is the original artist of light and dark, and who gave me the ability to enjoy his design of the human hand. I am grateful to my art teacher, who supported and directed me in this piece. Above all I want to glorify God in this work and to continue to do so as I continue to draw and grow in him.

Christmas Dogs

Entry K

16″ x 20″, Graphite Pencil on Paper

Overall, these drawings were something that had to be a little more creative than I usually do. And by that I mean, I’m usually someone who gets inspiration from other artists’ work or images, or I’ll watch something and decide to take a specific scene or moment and draw in my own way. But for this project, I came up with my own ideas from my imagination, trust me, it wasn’t easy. After a while though, it was starting to come along nicely, and by the end, it turned out better than I expected. In the drawing, you see a group of dogs sitting with a big tree in the background. I used the perspective of the tree’s height to focus on the size of the dogs. The dogs are meant to be the primary subjects in the center of the paper. The main media I used for this artwork were pencil and paper. I used a ruler and several shading techniques to draw straight lines. To start out, I drew lightly and made some simple but very basic shapes. Once I knew what shapes I wanted, I turned them into dogs. Once I had very light images of dogs, I went with darker lines and started to add shade and more texture. You may be wondering why I decided to use dogs and why are they sitting underneath a tree at Christmas time? Well, the first reason would be that I love dogs, and they’re always the kind of pet that will love you and keep you company in hard times. In this drawing, I wanted to illustrate a couple of dogs sitting in a warm, cozy house on Christmas morning, experiencing the magic with their family. It is an image of heartwarming gladness and funny moments with your very special pets. When I was young, I was told that we had a dog named Noah, and even though I don’t remember it specifically myself, my mom would often tell me about how he would always know that it was Christmas time. He even got his own stocking, and he always tore up his own presents, and I guess it was pretty funny. I just wanted to remind myself that even though Christmas time is a great time of year for family and friends, it’s just as magical with your pets, and you should cherish the moments with the theme.

Best Friends

Entry L

10X12, Pen and Ink

I created my artwork “Best Friends”, in honor of my two cousins who are portrayed in my pen and ink drawing. I selected my original reference photo due to the emotion in each of their faces, realizing how the contrast in their expressions could make for a unique piece. The two boys shown in the image are life-long companions, yet they could not be more different in personality. I find that those differences in character come through in the photo I chose. Wishing to display the differentiation, I chose to use stippling as my technique, as it allows me to incorporate the finer details. My favorite part about the artwork is that, even in my small art piece which captures very little of these boys, one can still notice how God created them uniquely, just as he has with everyone else.

Divine Grace

Entry M

11″x14″, graphite and charcoal

“I was inspired by the artist Francois Bonvin’s artwork, A Woman Spinning Flax, and his utilization of very strong light that fades into darkness. In my composition, I portrayed God as light as He reaches down into darkness which represents sin. I want my piece to represent God as a form of divine aid, so that while this world is full of turmoil and tribulation, God is the help that we all desire and crave for as Christians.”

Creativity

Entry N 

8.5″ x 11″, Creativity

I would say that my older brother has been my greatest inspiration. As I was growing up, I have many memories of my brother drawing with simply a mechanical pencil. My desire was always to be able to draw like him. His attention to the subtlety of shading is what I have tried to represent in my own sketches and drawings.

The Greatest Love

Entry O

14 1/2 x 11 1/2, pencils, tortillon

C.S. Lewis’s book series The Chronicles of Narnia influenced this drawing because Aslan is an excellent depiction of Christ. When I look at Aslan, I can see the love of Christ in his eyes. Reading Narnia with my siblings and my dad when I was younger inspired me because that was a memorable time.

Lunch

Entry P

22″ x 21″, graphite

This piece is inspired by the realist, Gustav Corbet, particularly his work, “The Stone Breakers.” In that piece Corbet depicts the everyday life of a man and a boy hard at work. Unlike other paintings with people working, such as “The Gleaners,” by Jean Francois Millet, Corbet shows how the world really is and paints the subjects with worn-out clothes and shoes. My art piece illustrates my tasty, yet boring, most commonly eaten lunch in the Andrews household.

(Please note, student’s is signature edited out for the sake of anonymity during the judging process)

Charley’s Smile

Entry Q

9×9 inches, pencil

I was trying to capture the wisdom of an older golden retriever dog, highlighting the gray in Charlie’s fur around his face. There is nothing more comforting and familiar than the loyalty of a dog that loves you and you love them. I hope I was able to capture the companionship and admiration that a dog can have for their owners and family displayed in Charlie’s eyes.

Individuals of My Family

Entry R

9″ x 12″, Charcol and Dry Pastel

I drew my family because they are very important to me. I have a pretty big family and each member has a very distinct personality. So what I tried to accomplish through my drawing was portraying their characters without drawing their faces. Facial expression is definitely very important for displaying emotions and character but I tried to focus more on body language in my drawing. How my family is interacting with each other; with their arms around each other, my brother’s arms crossed, my mom’s hand on my sister’s shoulder, etc. really does a good job showing their unique selves. And I know other people looking at it don’t know my family as well as me, but I hope their emotions still show through to them. I was inspired by the style of art that is very minimalistic and shows mostly lines and limited facial features. I’d seen a lot of digital artists do family pictures in that style, so I figured I’d do a similar thing just with charcoal and dry pastels.

As the pain grows

Entry S

12×16 inches, charcoal and white pencil

As a student at a classical education school, we study a great amount of the ancient Roman times. In this piece is a roman soldier, surrounded by different depths of darkness. The piece depicts the darkness of the many dreadful wars, and suffering of which surrounded the men who became soldiers to protect their homes and families. As shown in the piece, this roman soldier is the courageous light who is fighting against the darkness.
The soldier is drawn with a white colored pencil on top of liquid charcoal which is all on top of a single layer of fine dry charcoal. As the creator of this piece, this is my first time using both wet and dry charcoal to create art. I was curious to see how these materials are different from others and I found that they are both very fun and unique in separate ways. The fine dry charcoal was messy and random while the wet charcoal was controlled and with a hard coarse texture. This piece was so fun to create and I hope that others can enjoy it as much as I do.

The Windup

Entry T

9×12″, Charcoal on Bristol Paper

In my piece, “The Windup”, I tried to capture the intensity of the battle between a pitcher and batter. There is nothing more confrontational than two players facing off with the sole determination to out-perform the other. This is the reason the subject is staring at the audience. It communicates the effort and intensity that goes into every pitch. I chose charcoal because it gives a deep range of lights and darks which lent itself to the dramatic lighting of this scene. It was also capable of giving the smooth textures that I wanted for the glove. I was inspired by Caravaggio’s deliberate use of light and shadow to add suspense in his pieces, but also the intentional faces in the sculptures of Bernini. I have depicted the moment before extreme action in a somewhat idealized manner just as his “David” and “Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius”

Flock Call

Entry U 

10″ x 13″, Colored pencil and chalk pastel on paper

I’m often amazed at how colorful God’s creations are, especially when I get a chance to appreciate the saturated, wonderful colors with my eyes. Whenever I can immerse myself in the splendor of these saturated tones, I am reminded of the sheer magnificence of the world around us and its Creator. However, I discovered that the precision of photographs often comes at the expense of the loss of these vibrant colors. Therefore, when experimenting with colored pencils, I decided to draw out this picture I took with purposefully added colors and a more decorative background. I hope to not only capture but also expand on the subjective appreciation I had when seeing these beautiful birds using color contrast and a mix of different texture expressions. I hope to convey to the viewers of this drawing how I feel about nature and inspire further imaginations.

Cherished Memories

Entry V

18″ x 24″, Black and White Charcoal

This old Western building, which holds a special place in my heart, served as both my inspiration and my subject. It symbolizes cherished family memories at a beloved vacation spot. My goal was to immortalize the rustic charm with deliberate strokes and attention to detail, harnessing the expressive power of black and white charcoal to fill my work with a sense of drama. By focusing on light and shadow, texture and perspective, I aimed to invite viewers to reminisce on the past with me.

Self-Portrait

Entry Z

12″x18″, Graphite on White Sulphite Drawing Paper

In this piece I sought to depict the struggles of mental health and the hope we receive in the Gospel. The portrait on the left depicts a moment in my life when I felt overcome with anxiety and worry. The portrait on the right points to the joy and hope I found in God’s truth, goodness, and beauty. I juxtaposed these two strikingly different moments to reflect our journey to finding joy despite hardships. This journey is found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ which is represented in the Origami birds.