This year’s crop of Fluvanna County High School art students showed impressive skill in the annual Fine Arts Show.
The judges from the Fluvanna Art Association had a difficult time choosing among the students work. Each of the judges looked at the pieces from a different viewpoint.
In each category, most of the students had a handle on their medium and showed strong ability in using their tools, but one or two students stood out.
A few of the students in perspective, not only mastered the technique, but took it further and created neighborhoods in their cityscapes with recognizable commercial icons.
Those that stood out in the zentangle category, used their imagination and created perfect and neat patterns, which produced stunning pictures. The black and white patterns made the art work pop.
Linoleum block prints are also difficult to execute because the tool is difficult to master. The students who created these, along with other print medium, ranged from the neat and simple to the exotic.
Arts and crafts had a myriad of paper mache sculptures, ceramics and other items. Most were fun, offbeat and colorful. A papier Mache abstract dog was amusing, painted bright yellow with big Gremlin ears and other quirky patterns. Also worth mentioning was Lilly Abernathy’s tile painting, showing a variety of confetti colors in shapes resembling puzzle pieces.
In years past, students featured enormous paintings, but this year featured very few oils. Art teacher Michelle Coleman said it was because those that work in that medium were helping her design the art work for the student theater production. What was outstanding this year were the watercolors, drawing, and photography.
Drawing and pastels saw surprises with Rachel Many’s large charcoal portrait of a young woman. Many got first for her portrait, capturing the sultry essence of her subject. Alex Creel’s soft pencil subject of a still life within a still life, showing a hand holding a camera and taking a photo of a pear, was intriguing.
Among the ones to watch are Andrew Sheets, who already won an award for his flawless pastel drawing of a cat, also won first for this work and won second in colored pencil for his panel of grizzly bears. Sheets has learned at a young age how to use and master colored pencils. His attention to detail is flawless and meticulous in his rendition of the bear’s rough fur, the claws and its canines as it roars.
“He worked on this piece for a long time, drawing every blade of grass and pine needle,” said Coleman, agreeing about Sheet’s dedication to details.
Watercolor featured an enormous amount of talent in one category. Adora Gamage, who won first in the novice category in the recent FAA judged show, showed off her versatility with an offbeat fun illustrative piece featuring breakfast items floating in midair — including a perfectly executed croissant and splashing coffee.
Bri Parker grabbed the attention of judges and got first for her quirky colorful portrait of a young woman with long hair and flowers.
“She comes up with a variety of subjects,” said Coleman. But the painting that got Best In Show was Reanna DeVarennes’ striking watercolor. Like Parker, DeVarennes was another one who went far outside the box for her subject, which was a reflection of a marching band seen in a tuba. The judges were in a
we of her work, noting her perfect distortion of the musicians represented in the contour of the tuba. Coleman added that Parker would be studying illustration when she went to college — good choice for someone who already has a head full of forward-looking ideas.
The take away from this year’s show was that the students saw no boundaries when it came to their imaginations and this signaled to the adult judges that no matter what age, you can go beyond what you learn and create something memorable.
