Surrealism
Requiem of Distortion
Emma Huynh, Grade 11
Acrylic on Canvas 16" x 20"
School: Governor Simcoe Secondary School
Teacher: Mr. Michael Grant
Principal: Ms. Teri Thompson
Artist Statement: My artwork is an acrylic painting inspired by Van Gogh's Starry Night. Using thick impasto paint and arabesques, I juxtaposed my upside-down self-portrait, current technology and an example of green energy, imitating Van Gogh's expressionistic, distorted and melancholic style. Overall, I wanted this piece to feel like a requiem. With the swirling lines and mixture of dark and light colours, I wanted this piece to have a feeling of unsettledness with a hint of darkness - just as a song of requiem would sound and feel.
The Blind Girl’s Meal
Khushpreet Kaur Toor, Grade 11
Acrylic on Canvas 40.5cm x 50.5cm
School: Governor Simcoe Secondary School
Teacher: Mr. Michael Grant
Principal: Ms. Teri Thompson
Artist Statement: This melancholic composition is a recreation of Picasso’s famous “blue period” portrait The Blind Man’s Meal which depicts a slender and lonely blind man attempting to eat his meagre meal. I attempted to recreate this masterpiece using acrylic paint whilst adding four significant juxtapositions to this painting (as required by this project): first, I replaced the blind man with my self-portrait (adhering to Picasso’s painterly style). Secondly, I added a window in the background in order to include an example of 2021 green energy. Thirdly, I included an owl on the blind girl’s shirt, symbolizing my favourite artist, Drake, who is known for his OVO (owl) brand. Lastly, what makes this portrait come to life in total, blue luminescence is the smartphone that is blinding and sadly distracting the girl from her meal. Ironically, Picasso’s Blind Man is naturally visually challenged; however, he does everything in his power to find his food and drink, yet our generation is pathetically blinded and distracted by time-wasting, blue screen technology. Today, we have lost sight of what is important. Are we blind to the importance of important life matters such as food, family and friends, or will we eventually, literally lose our eyesight due to the harmful blue rays of the smartphone?
Gargoyle Gradation
Camela Temacini, Grade 10
Pencil/Graphite on Paper 49 cm x 21 cm
School: Governor Simcoe Secondary School
Teacher: Mr. Michael Grant
Principal: Ms. Teri Thompson
Artist Statement: In this artwork, I attempted to show the three-step transformation of a common office stapler into a grotesque gargoyle. The main challenge of this graphite drawing was to create, in the centre drawing, the exact mid-point of the transformation – 50% stapler and 50% gargoyle. Another challenge of this piece was to create an imaginary light source and add various levels of value to create the illusion of believable forms.
Zentangle
Muneira Nur, Grade 9
Pen and Ink
School: Stamford Collegiate
Teacher: Ms. Larissa Turcotte
Principal: Mr. Neil Sheard
"Eureka"
Amelia Mirza, Grade 11
Mixed Media 12X18 inches
School: Grimsby Secondary School
Teacher: Ms. Vicki Schindel
Principal: Mr. Mat Miller
Artist Statement: The three words I chose were “Wings,” “Window,” and “Astrology.” To incorporate these, angel wings can be seen at the bottom of the piece, a stained glass window can be seen in the middle of the piece, and the 12 astrological signs are hidden in the angel in front of the window. I think these 3 things are all angelic and attempted to incorporate biblical angels into the piece as they’re something that are a personal interest of mine. The 3 types of transformation used in this piece were Metamorphosis, Multiplication, and Disguising. The states of change for metamorphosis are depicted in the legs protruding from behind the window. The legs turn into angel wings in three stages; the first being normal legs, the second being covered in feathers, and the third being angel wings. Multiplication is shown in the multiple eyes on the rings around the angel. Disguising was used to hide the astrological signs on the other side of the angel’s rings. My reference to art history was through the stained glass window, which was a popular staple in gothic churches from the middle ages.
The Consequences of Manipulation
Ruby Hill, Grade 10
Thin paint marker and pencil on paper 4 feet by 2.5 feet
School: DSBN Academy
Teacher: Mrs. Cara Goulding
Principal: Mrs. Lisa Nazar
Artist Statement: This piece represents a person's control over others due to lacking the ability to empathize and reciprocate, therefore having to learn it robotically, pretending they understand it. While doing so they develop the same issue themselves. The more they continue to pretend and control things, the more strung up they get in their own voodoo strings.
Phoenix Rising
Bella Recine, Grade 11
Charcoal
School: Laura Secord Secondary School
Teacher: Mrs. Chelsea Wilcox
Principal: Mrs. Helena Tritchew
Artist Statement: My theme for this piece was Fire. I wanted to incorporate the effective material that relates to the element itself. I feel this piece came out well, I wanted to expand my knowledge with charcoal and for this being my first all charcoal piece I have learned a lot about the medium and will definitely use it again. The biggest struggle for me was keeping the lines of the feathers clean and neat until I realized that charcoal is messy, fire is uncontrollable, I let the medium do what it wanted. I incorporated a triangle in the piece to symbolize the fire element and to show the fire triangle which contains Heat, Oxygen and Gas. Fire is a very powerful element that destroys and burns but it also purifies. The phoenix represents change and growth. This piece is about finding beauty and meaning in things we often see as destructive or negative.
Blooming from Unexpected Places
Avery Burtenshaw, Grade 10
Pencil/Graphite on Paper 11.5 cm by 10.5 cm
School: DSBN Academy
Teacher: Mrs. Cara Goulding
Principal: Mrs. Lisa Nazar
Artist Statement: This piece took me about five hours to complete, and it started as a "memorial" of sorts when a friend of mine's grandmother passed. She wanted a tattoo that combined a turtle and hydrangeas, and inspired by the thought of that, I set about making one (which, to my complete surprise, she ended up using as the actual tattoo design). However, as I was drawing it started to take on a different meaning. Turtles and flowers are not two things you would think to commonly see together, especially not as a hybrid object, and I feel that it ultimately expressed that it's okay to bloom from unexpected places, as long as you bloom in the end. I've always hated the phrase "bloom where you are planted," and its underlying message; I've always thought that it was so silly to tell someone that they are not allowed to create the life that they want for themselves just because they began somewhere different, and I feel like in the end this drawing encompassed that better than my words ever could.
"They've Gotten Themselves in a Pickle"
Morgan McGee, Grade 9
Mixed Media 13X15 inches
School: Grimsby Secondary School
Teacher: Ms. Vicki Schindel
Principal: Mr. Mat Miller
Artist Statement: The mood that I am trying to show in my art piece is fear/danger, I accomplished this by colouring the walls red and I tried to make the back wall and the ceiling look like fire. The objects that I have included that wizards use are a magic ball (On the shelf on the right), and a magic wizard staff (In the corner in the left). The Hieroglyphic word that I have included is actually two words and it says Oreo + Rosie, The words are on a poster on the back wall (Also on the poster is my logo) and I chose those words because they are the names of the cats on the poster. The first basic form that I hid was the cone, which I turned into an ice cream cone, the second is a cylinder, which is the checkers piece on the ground, the third is a cube, which is a box on the same shelf as the magic ball. The fourth basic form that I have hidden is the pyramid, which is a tiny version of a Giza Pyramid which is on the bookshelf on the left, the fifth is a sphere and those are the tiny planets hanging from the ceiling, and the last basic form is an egg, which in my piece, is literally an egg and they can be found on the porch. I titled my piece "They've Gotten Themselves in a Pickle" because multiple things in my art are in a pickle, first the wizard who owns the room had an experiment go wrong (The giant worm coming through the wall). Second, the wizard’s room is in the middle of the ocean (The wizard doesn’t know why his room is in the ocean). And lastly the king chess piece is in checkmate. (If you don’t play chess that means the game is over and the player in checkmate loses). My face vase illusion is on the bookshelf close to the pyramid and the face vase is a vase holding flowers (Something growing).
Mortality
Beverley Hansler, Grade 11
Pencil/Graphite on Paper
School: E L Crossley Secondary School
Teacher: Ms. Sherry Wilkinson
Principal: Mrs. Janice Sargeant
Artist Statement:
This piece was done as my own interpretation of an anime “The Promised Neverland,” my piece focuses on the mortal aspect of it; a reminder that everything comes to an end.
Corruption
Logan Stewart, Grade 12
Pencil/Graphite on Paper 8X11
School: Beamsville District Secondary School
Teacher: Mrs. Kristel Niemi
Principal: Mr. Matt Wilson
Artist Statement: My name is Logan.
I enjoy video games and watching videos online.
My art piece is called Corruption.
It depicts a man who is becoming the exact thing he is trying to avoid.
Melting Eye
Rachael Moskalyk, Grade 11
Acrylic gouache on canvas 15.75" (circular canvas)
School: E.L. Crossley Secondary School
Teacher: Ms. Sherry Wilkinson
Principal: Mrs. Janice Sargeant
Artist Statement:
Believe it or not the background of the eye was the most difficult part of the whole process. Getting the perfect blend of pastel shades was hard for me, especially because I didn't just want to DO it, I wanted to be satisfied with it. The eye itself I felt could have no true mistakes because everyone's eye is unique and can look like anything really as long as it has the original, common shape of an eye. I wanted to add lots of color to the iris of the eye, to have a whimsical look to it. The eyelashes were difficult because I had the urge for them to be a perfect curve but that wasn't the case. As for the melting effect, this was the most fun part as I had to use gouache, water and watercolor to create this effect. This is one of the most different/hyperrealistic paintings I've done.
Gargoyle Crow
Jae Morris, Grade 11
Mixed Media
School: Eastdale Secondary School
Teacher: Mrs. Mellissa Middleton
Principal: Mrs. Rosemary Jellnick
Artist Statement: “I wanted to try out a new shading technique and attempt to try and draw a bird. So this is how it came out!”