Featured Student Artist: Johee Shin

Johee Shin just completed her junior year at Hebron High School in Carrollton, Texas. While she has focused on art as she’s grown older, her parents allowed her the freedom to experience many different activates like ballet, tap, jazz, swimming, golf, tennis, piano, violin, and flute.  She decided out of those activities that art was her future path and has dedicated herself to it whole-heartedly.

Johee’s talent has been reflected in our national art contest, as she has been selected as a Top Ten Winner in three different contests, and published a total of five times.  Below are her Top Ten pieces: Primal Desires, Inner Sanctum, and Tethered (shown at the bottom).

My art teachers often told my mom that I had a lot of potential when I started going to an art studio in 8th grade. It was a new place where I could work on my own and be inspired by fellow artists around me. By producing work and getting to improve my skills I was allowed to explore various techniques and build on my talents. I entered the contest Celebrating Art in the 9th grade where I managed to receive three Top 10 awards. They are all still-lives and landscapes since I was still learning the foundations of painting during that time period. I have explored different kinds of medium, but oil still seems to be my favorite. I am still learning as an artist and have plenty of room for improvement. I also have been experimenting with watercolor recently to find my own unique style that would differentiate me from other artists.
 
Whenever I am stressed out about school or I just need a break, I turn to painting, as it is therapeutic to me. My current top priority is my AP art portfolio. I have matured a lot through the making of this portfolio as it has given me a chance to try out new styles as I go in-depth in my concentration. I still attend the private studio that I started with in 8th grade as well as my public school art class.  I am now starting my college art portfolio and my future plans still revolve around an art career.   If I am really meant to be an artist, I will end up as an artist. I plan to use my talents to serve God!

Congratulations to Johee again on her incredible successes thus far.  To learn more about our national art contest, visit www.celebratingart.com.

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Featured Student Artist: Meagan Wu

Meagan Wu is a 17-year-old rising senior at Canyon Crest Academy (CCA) high school in San Diego, California. She was selected as a Top Ten Winner for her colored pencil drawing, “Floral Beauty.”  Meagan’s art was chosen as one of the ten best in all of North America out of thousands of entries submitted. Her art was featured and published in our Spring 2013 anthology.

Meagan has developed as an aspiring young artist through recognition as a multitalented individual and intellectually engaged student. She has made many accomplishments both as an artist and musician who has performed in Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, and soloed with orchestras. Meagan recently attended the prestigious Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation Summer Seminar at Colorado College with full scholarship as one of 60 gifted high school juniors nationwide, drawing and painting in the mountains under the daily tutelage of guest artists Don Coen and Barbara Friedman.

Meagan became avidly interested in art at a young age and has the National Youth Art Competition, California State PTA, San Diego County Fair Youth Art Show, Regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and has had her artwork displayed in the San Diego Art Institute Museum of the Living Artist for three years. Her art consists of work from her AP Drawing class, free time, and CCA Envision Visual Arts (EVA) Conservatory under the guidance of Jessica Matthes, who says: “Meagan has been one of our star students in EVA day classes and in Conservatory.  She has an extremely high level of skill and creativity and especially excels at painting.  I have been lucky enough to have Meagan in several of my classes and she always goes above and beyond in every project”.

Meagan especially loves to draw human figures, and is inspired by music she listens to and history. She focuses on hyperrealism. “Art encourages me to observe beyond a superficial expression or subjective experience. It allows me to give it my own story, which is just as exciting as viewing the finished piece.”

We asked Meagan to share her inspiration as well as her future aspirations:

“I especially like ‘Floral Beauty‘ because it has so many intricacies: the flower petals’ delicate hues, the reflection in the golden vase, the countless folds of the tablecloth…It’s more than just flowers, and is quite mesmorizing. I drew ‘Floral Beauty’ because I am intensely engrossed by such fine details, and the setup/composition tested my hand with detail to the maximum. Somehow, working on minute elements doesn’t hurt my patience because I know how much such concentration contributes to the piece as a whole. Many people assume that realism like in still lives and portraits is undermined by photography. But I will always believe that realistic art undermines photographs, since artists use their own hands and a priceless determination to recreate reality. It is this diligence that illustrates just how precious art can be. It my delight in sketching even random things I see when travelling or at home that has made me so much keener. I hope that I can develop my art further by incorporating even more unique concepts and meaningful stories that cannot be told in words. I know that I will continue my artistic, and musical, pursuits after high school.”

Meagan also loves to play the cello, and has demonstrated her musical skill by winning various competitions from the local to international level including 1st Prize in the H.B. Goodlin Scholarship Auditions, American Protégé International Music Talent Competition, MTAC Concerto Competition, MTAC VOCE Competition, Satori Strings Competition, International Youth Praise Competition; and 2nd Prize in American Fine Arts Festival International Concerto Competition and Era of Romantic Music Competition, Cal-Poly All-State Music Festival Solo Competition, Grossmont Music Scholarship Auditions, and more. Furthermore, Meagan loves to serve her community through performances at senior/retirement houses, nursing homes, libraries, and fundraising events. Meagan enjoys the challenge of balancing her art, music, and academics with equal devotion.

Congratulations, Meagan, on not only being selected as a Top Ten Winner for the Spring 2013 art contest, but for your incredible achievements in both the fine and performing arts. We wish you the best in your bright future, and thank you for inspiring others with your beautiful talent.

To learn more about our national art contest, visit www.CelebratingArt.com.

Featured Student Artist: Audrey Besse

Audrey was 11 years old when she created her art, “Baby Cougar Head“.  This painting was selected as a Top Ten Winner in our Spring 2012 national art contest for the 4-6 grade category.

Audrey lives in Dallas, Texas and has been creating art with different mediums all of her life.  Her painting was inspired by her Aunt Linda, who is a wildlife artist.  “For three years prior to my painting, I had been doing some hard Paint-by-Number sets.” Audrey explains, “Then I wanted something more challenging.  So Aunt Linda offered to show me how to do the same steps but from a blank gesso board.  We chose a 6 x 6 board to do my baby cougar head.”

In the future, Audrey plans to become an art teacher or own an art studio with one of her best friends.

To learn more about our national art contests, please visit www.CelebratingArt.com.

Student Art Winner Profile: Erica G.

Our student artist spotlight for this week is on 16 year old Erica G.  Erica was a Top Ten Winner with her art piece “Noble Dane” in our Fall 2011 Art Contest.

Erica is a junior at Saint Thomas Aquinas High School.  Amazingly, she is a self-taught artist.  Her favorite things to draw are animals.  Erica tells us, “I’ve always had a passion for drawing…In the future I know I want to have a job that involves artistic creativity in which I can use my talent for digital drawing.”

One can see by her winning entry how incredibly talented Erica already is.  Good luck with your future endeavors, Erica.  We know you are going to be successful and hope to see more of your work in the future.