A Fine Art Introduction
My interest in fine art began in fourth grade when I took a painting and clay class at a local art studio. After that class, I painted often as a hobby. It wasn’t until high school that I really started to take it seriously. I went to a large high school that had a wide variety of art electives taught by extremely talented artists. As I was also heavily involved in the music department and took graphic design electives, I was only able to take four fine art electives during this time. I poured myself into these classes, soaking up the instruction and feedback of my art teachers.
High School Art
My favorite two courses were taught by the same teacher, Ms. Kabbeko. The first was a drawing specific class and the second was painting specific. Up until these classes, I had mainly worked with acrylic painting. Ms. Kabbeko pushed me to try new mediums and find my style. I experimented with charcoal, colored pencils on vellum, and pastels on raw canvas in my drawing class. In my painting class, I tried my hand at watercolors and oils. I learned that realism is my strength. I dabbled in impressionism because that’s my favorite style to observe. I confirmed that abstract and modern art is not the style for me. I discovered that still life and landscape paintings are my favorite. Ms. Kabbeko encouraged me to enter my drawings into the Scholastic Art and the Lancaster County Young Artists competitions, where I placed in both.
Art Now
Now, I take all that I have learned and enjoy painting as a hobby. I especially enjoy painting landscapes of places I’ve been and am currently working on a landscape from the top of a hike in the Smokey Mountains from a trip I took to Tennessee last summer.
My Career: Why Graphic Design, Not Fine Art?
People often ask why I don’t sell my work or pursue fine art as a career. Painting is therapeutic and personal to me. I pour myself into these paintings. The landscapes particularly hold a lot of memories within the canvases. I paint for me and therefore cannot part with the paintings. Or I paint with someone dear to me specifically in mind, in which case that painting becomes a gift. So if graphic design is an art form, what makes it different? For me, graphic design is for others. I work on projects that help clients communicate who they are. This work is strategic, and created specifically with a client in mind, making it easier to part with my work. I love them both, but ultimately here’s how I see it – fine art is for me and graphic design is for others.
