Walking through the halls of consumerism at the mall, it might be easy to miss something truly unique. In the second floor, sandwiched between the escalator and a cookie store near Macy’s, dozens of works of beautiful artwork hang on the walls of a makeshift gallery. The artistic geniuses behind this work aren’t famous photographers or painters. They’re local students.
The 37th annual Student Art Show presented by the Santa Maria Arts Council is on display through April. The free exhibit features work from students from grades seven through 12 in categories including drawing, painting, design, 3-D imaging, and photography.
Melissa Johnson, visual and performing arts teacher at Ernest Righetti High School, said the Santa Maria Arts Council invites art teachers in the region to submit up to 15 pieces, with a limit of two pieces per student. Many of her students who entered or presented work were advanced, and have had art classes for at least two years, she explained.
“I am incredibly proud of my students,” Johnson said. “They work hard. It’s jaw dropping. The work is so inspiring and amazing. I’m so proud of all them.”
One of those hard working students is Alexzandrea McQuade. McQuade nabbed the grand prize in the show for her bold interpretation of an aging man, an evocative image that recalls Charles Manson and a sweet aging grandfather all at once.
A soft-spoken and polite high school student about to turn 19, McQuade is markedly shy about her achievement. For the past two years, she has studied art at Righetti. This is the first time she’s won grand prize in an art show like this.
“I’ve loved art for a lot of years,” McQuade said. “I’ve been doing it since sixth grade. Just seeing the outcome, how beautiful pieces can be, and how far your imagination can take you is the best part.”
It’s not just McQuade’s talent and flair for stark contrast that make her piece so successful. It’s her tireless attention and dedication to detail, evident in the piece. Stippling is a highly precise art form, one that involves creating shapes, shadows, and highlights through tiny pinpoint dots repeated on a massive scale. It’s not for those without patience.
“Literally, it’s just the Sharpie and lots of little dots,” Johnson explained. “She used her artistic eye to put the tonal values. She really knows how to use negative space and where not to stipple, too. It takes hundreds of hours.”
The image varies in gradation between the lights of the subject’s grey hair, medium tones of the face and skin, and darker tones in the eyes and other places. McQuade said she starts first with a grid then drafts an image with a pencil.
“After that you outline the lights and darks in the face and hair,” she said. “It’s about finding the right shades of light and dark. You have to identify which ones are light and dark. Then you start to use a pen, ever so slowly. You can’t go fast. It’s a slow process.”
Students featured in the exhibit all have the talent to achieve futures in the art world. McQuade said she plans to seek a doctorate in art and pursue teaching. Her teacher said no matter what students decide to do career-wise, the influence of art will have a lifelong impact.
“Many of these students have definitely chosen to take it further,” Johnson said. “And I think that if even they don’t pursue it in college or their careers, they are all going to be lifelong artists.”
Other awardees in the show included first place drawing winner Sophie Buelow from Righetti, first place in design to Tenley Childs from Orcutt Academy High School, first place photography winner Jordan Mangayao from Orcutt Academy, first place painting winner Paula Solano Abarca from Righetti, and first place in 3-D to Sierra Enciso from Orcutt Academy.
For more information on the student show or other art programs with the Santa Maria Arts Council, visit smartscouncil.org.
Arts and Lifestyle writer Rebecca Rose can’t draw a straight line to save her life. Contact her at rrose@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 13-20, 2017.