4 images

by Selina Zhang

William P. Clements High School

The Cozy Cabin

study of a boy

study of an elderly woman

fresh watermelon

I had the opportunity to be mentored by many renowned artists, all of whom heavily emphasized the importance of the fundamentals. One can think of art as a progression of sorts, a metamorphosis from the most simple graphite shapes to detailed oil portraits; if one cannot master the former, they are unable to perfect the latter. Every face can be broken down into its most organic form, and then slowly sculpted to create the wrinkles, the imperfections and the irregularities. Portraiture stands at the core of art, the very end of the metamorphosis: if you ask someone to name a famous painting, most of the answers will be portraits. Their difficulty to recreate and their heterogeneity has allowed them to become essential to visual art. This collection of portraits I created throughout my high school career of both human and non-human subjects aims to show the diversity in portraiture, in expression, color, and medium. While I have been drawing these since my freshman year, I am nowhere close to mastering this art: there is always something a little off about my reproduction. By continuing to study my subjects, I hope to fill the gaps in where they exist.