I have always enjoyed art. Animation and online tutorials have always been a part of my life. In middle school I did a ceramic class, and my teacher encouraged me to continue working in creative fields of work. This experience reinforced my aspiration of becoming an artist.
When I joined WHSAD in the 9th grade, I learned about the Pratt Young Scholars program. Pratt teachers came to the school and did a presentation on the program during 4th and 9th period in an architecture classroom. It provides three years of exposure and various types of art and techniques taught by real college professors. The opportunity that the program offered was more than anything that I have ever been exposed to. I applied, interviewed, and submitted samples of my work and was accepted. Since then, I have been going to Pratt two days weekly for most of the school year along with an additional two weeks in the summer. The program provides not only artistic tutelage but also college preparation classes which will hopefully make me a more rounded and prepared student.
Originally, my art consisted mainly of sketching animals and landscapes. In the first summer at Pratt, I participated in the Draw the Object class which initially did not seem like fun, but I quickly learned that it was fundamental to developing my techniques and perspective. Objects are everywhere; stairs, bookcases, houses, coffee cups and so much more. As an artist, being able to depict items with perspective is essential. Perspective is crucial for an artist because it creates a sense of depth and realism in their work. It helps show how objects relate to each other in space, making the artwork more engaging.
The first two methods that I learnt were Additive and Reductive drawing. The Former adding charcoal onto the paper with little erasing involved. The latter involved covering the page in charcoal and erasing to create the image. I personally struggled with drawing the objects at the right angles and getting the shading of metallic pieces right. When one object was behind the other I would struggle to add the proper amount of depth to the space. The feedback I got from my teacher was very helpful as he instructed me to draw smaller to fit more room in and often pointed out mistakes that I made when prompted. Drawing is sometimes a difficult process as the feeling of not being able to take the image in front of you and recreate it on paper the same way you saw in your head can be hard. But I still believe that I improved my object drawing skills through the class.
Currently, I’m in my second year at Pratt and I am so excited about all that there is to learn. This program has been very affirming and has made me even more committed to pursuing a career in art. This program has shown me that I have the ability to master and learn different mediums. I will continue the program and get a scholarship for Pratt which will hopefully lead to me finding an art based career.