As someone who has had the privilege of taking classes at the League, I found it to be an incredibly supportive environment that provides clear tools and critiques to help students move forward technically and creatively. For a young student like me, who does not have a strong understanding of how to prepare work, or organize it for applications, The League is an incredible school. The League also enables me to create throughout the year since I do not attend an art high school.
This summer I attended the Summer Arts Institute (SAI), drawing and painting intensively for a month. The program was very fulfilling for me, and now I cannot imagine entering the academic year without taking any art courses. I am looking to the future as a rising junior in high school and am beginning to prepare my art portfolio for college applications. This scholarship at the Art Students League of New York would offer me the perfect opportunity to prepare work for my portfolio, as well as hone my artistic skills.
“No matter what I do, I want to always be creating my own work.”
Beyond completing college applications, I really hope to spend my career working with art. One dream I have is to work in art restoration and conservation in a museum. Preserving pieces so generations can cherish art can be important and fulfilling work. Another career that interests me is working as an art teacher. No matter what I do, I want to always be creating my own work.
The artist that drives my motivation to create is Alice Neel. I am inspired by Neel’s ability to identify commonalities between people. The way she depicts individuals in all walks of life, especially those in working class communities of New York speaks to my own goals as an artist. As a lifetime New York resident, Neel’s portraits and cityscapes connect closely with my upbringing in the city. I love her confident strokes and the clear feeling that comes from her portraits. I hope my pieces reflect a similar intensity. Additionally, the painter Jordan Casteel captures my attention in a way that is similar to my interest in Alice Neel’s work.
Inspired by these artists, I enjoy creating portraits (particularly working in painting) but am interested in experimenting with many different subjects. I have spent many hours working in acrylic, charcoal, and chalk pastel, so I would love the opportunity to work in oil. I still have a lot to work on in terms of capturing accurate proportions, movement, and color. I hope to hone those skills in a figure study course or a class working on painting. I am excited to try new things, develop my skills, and build a strong portfolio for my future college admissions.
High School of American Studies at Lehman College
Speilberger-Spanierman Scholarship-2022
Caucasian
