Drawing & Painting Has a Storybook Ending
The final project of any art at Brentwood is extremely important. After the paintbrushes are put away, the cameras returned, the instruments disassembled, the last artistic venture stays remembered by all. The melancholic end to an art class can be quite daunting for some. Lucky for them, artistry is all around. As summer blooms, colours emerge vibrantly and beckon to be captured. How will you frame these beautiful sights? It’s up to you, but the skills you master in your final project could lead the way.
The abilities studied in the coming months of Drawing & Painting will certainly remain in the students’ minds over the summer. There is no way the students could forget the bold images, punchy plots, and vivid colour of comic books. That's right, the final project for Drawing and Painting is the endearing and eye-catching art of comics.
In the coming weeks, students will be asked to find an ancestral story, either from the deep past or more recent years. The students will then identify their favourite tale, graphic novel, or myth. An exciting blend of real and fictional stories will all come together in one small comic book. These pieces will be extremely sentimental, as they are one-of-a-kind and genuinely original.
The ability to tell a story with only a few words is a fantastical competency and one that should be cherished. When asked why this project was chosen as the piece to end the year on, Mr Luna responded insightfully, “I often end the year with a drawing project. This is partly because painting is such a time-consuming and time-intensive learning curve, whereas a drawing assignment returns us to basics in terms of technique”. The final pieces produced by the four Drawing & Painting classes will surely be admired by many.
Every work produced in D & P is treasured, so what makes this specific piece so special? “This particular project asks other things of the student… it is more personal and demands that the student supply an imaginative approach to narrative. I see these qualities as ones best reserved until the end of our year when students have learned to trust, me, themselves, one another, but above all, the creative process, and so are better prepared to take on a more personal project” Mr Luna explains. The originality combined with the bold and distinct style of these comic books renders them totally priceless. It is truly a perfect note on which to end the year.
There will be no shortage of hard work though, the particular style of comic books cannot be mastered easily. Lily C, Mack ‘23, tries to grapple with these challenges, “There is no doubt that this will be a very hard project. It is so unlike everything we have done all year. Tt doesn’t even involve paint. The style of comic books is so distinct, that we will be forced to work in order to get it completely perfect. One false line or displaced colour could throw your whole objective off. I’m excited to see how the pieces will turn out, but I am also quite nervous about the process”.
Everyone is eager to see what the students will produce in their coming classes - a great way to add to the mounting excitement produced by the end of school. As the curtains close on this year’s art season, comic books will take the final stand on the stage. It is truly a perfect way to signify the end of D & P - very close to a story-book ending.
Neve M, Hope ‘23
