Plan Your Visit
Spring Arts Gallery

Fine Arts

Fine Arts

The Fine Arts is made up of students from all levels of the Pacifica program, from freshman to seniors. They bring with them a love for the creative arts and, often, a raw talent that is only just beginning to be exercised. The opportunity to stretch their skills and overcome inhibitions with paint and ink has opened up new worlds of expression this year and the results speak loudly. The following pieces are but a few examples of the works that have flowed out of the art room and the homes of our artists this semester. They have overcome adversity through quarantine and crafted pieces that make us all proud to be Tritons this year. The pieces showcased here represent the work of students in AP Studio Art as well as Drawing and Painting I and II. Several types of media were used in these projects, including pencil, acrylic, India ink, line and wash with pen and watercolor, and portraits of mixed media, gathered from found items at home. Join us in appreciation of the Divine spark of creativity observable in the craft of these fine artists.

 

 

AP Studio Art Projects

Olivia “Liv” Anderson: Living with Chronic Pain

How has living with chronic pain and fatigue affected the different aspects of my life? Living as an undiagnosed healthy person experiencing tremendous amounts of pain and fatigue daily has brought a great deal of hardship and frightening moments in my life, but it has also brought growth and joy. In my work, I began experimenting using acrylic and ink and later on transitioned to using collage and thread to further express my own style and inquiry. Each piece represents a different area of my life that has become impacted and by creating a visual look at each part of my life, it has brought healing and a deeper thinking about my life and my future. The pieces here represent physical pain, the relationships that have been affected, mental health, how society can impact me when listened to, and my faith and the healing I’ve gained from being a Christian. Some represent the importance in using my voice, the importance in compassion, and lastly, the gratitude I have for being able to be active despite living with chronic pain and fatigue everyday for the past six years.

 

Elle Dillon: Finding Joy in Suffering

“I seek a redemptive quality within this darkness that only Danny’s unbridled sense of optimism could find.” (Patterson)
The inquiry that guided my sustained investigation was finding joy within suffering. These pieces focus on the concept of discovering joy in the midst of suffering, which I explored when I was experiencing my own personal struggle. In December of 2018, I lost a family member due to a tragic ski accident. Danny was full of life, adventure and was known for thinking outside of the box.
During this process, I explored many ideas in the different tragedies I’ve encountered. But, I decided to focus on the most recent event I was faced with, and that was the passing of my 21 year old cousin. I experimented with charcoal, pencil, ink, and decided to work with acrylic. My main colors are used to portray positivity and negativity. As black renders negative space and white positive, it serves as hope and pain to the meaning behind the works. I used yellow because it is a color that most reflects happiness. I am determined to carve out hope when something so devastating happens and art helps me show others.

 

Anna Hammond: Light and Mood

How does light affect mood? Having seen Gerrit Honthorst‘s paintings in the Uffizi I was inspired by his great use of light and its affect on the mood in the painting and the viewer. In my SI I wanted to show Gerrit’s fire light affect and contrast it with blue light, making each the singular source in the painting and creating dark backgrounds. I also desired to show how blue light, coming from a device, can cause an effect on a person more than just lighting.
In each firelight painting one can see and feel the warmth, comfort, and passion. The firelight profiles show this though the color of each painting and the emotion of each model, which displays the same expression of peace and focus— reflecting this feeling in the viewer. In contrast, the blue light portraits demonstrate sadness, loneliness, and deep hopelessness. This effect comes from the sickly color which blue light gives each face along with the tired and dismal expression that each model has. Thus these paintings describe both the visual effect that blue light has on a person as well as the mental effect as each face bears great internal sadness— provoking sorrow, pity, and realization.

 

Matthew Kiper: The Blessing and Curse of Media

How has media changed me and society? Is it for the good or worse? In these pieces, I dive into how society and myself have absorbed and changed from media, and show both the benefits and curses of it.
These Pieces represent my views on myself and the ways the media impacted my personal image, from it being a gift, a blessing, a coping device, and a crutch. From consuming a new world of creativity produced, I grew my imagination, but it has shown in times it could be degrading. From being raised in a media fueled age, my self image is consumed by what the media has to say about it, and this thinking can leave behind cracks. Media has the power to be an outlet to cope, relax, and to grow the imagination, but could tear down self images and self reliance in society.

 

"Impact of Society" by Liv Anderson '21

Mixed media/collage & acrylic on canvas
Impact of Society is a representation of the expectations women are given and the expectations women living with chronic pain and fatigue experience. When you allow yourself to give in to the world and what it says about you and how you live your life and who you're supposed to be, it will completely consume you and affect your mind. Being a Christian, I’ve been able to challenge this in a healthier way but unfortunately women every day battle stereotypes and expectations that do consume or affect them.

"Compassion" by Liv Anderson, '21

Mixed media/acrylic & yarn on canvas
Compassion is a piece representing one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned throughout living with chronic pain and fatigue for the past six years. Others have taught me this by the grace and patience they've given me. This idea of compassion, giving compassion without needing to know why, was taught to me by my friends, a relationship, family, teachers, mentors, and strangers and I believe it's a way everyone should live.

"Use Your Voice" by Liv Anderson, '21

Mixed media/collage, acrylic & yarn on canvas
This piece was inspired by something I have learned while living with chronic pain and fatigue for six years and searching for answers for healing. I've learned that my voice, when willing to speak up and be bold and voice my opinions, makes a great difference and it has shaped me into the person I am today as well. It's important to remember that our voices can and will make a change in this world.

"Glowing Eye" by Elle Dillon, '20

Graphite & colored pencil on paper
In my junior year of high school, I experienced a lot of tragedy, with the loss of both my uncle and cousin. This piece represents what I saw through the lense of my own eye. My family and I experienced a lot of grief, but with these hard times we have been bonded closer than ever.

"Portrait of Danny" by Elle Dillon, '20

Acrylic
This is a portrait of my angel in Heaven. This picture is printed on his memorial stone. I chose to paint this specific picture of him because it is one of my favorites and it was displayed at his celebration of life ceremony.

"Catie" by Anna Hammond, '21

Oil on canvas
This piece is almost identical to the last: same lighting, same location, same expression. The singular difference is the person and the device. Because the computer is bigger the lighting has a stronger effect on the figure and thus the mood is less dark yet more serious in the figure's face.

"Lenox" by Anna Hammond, '21

Oil on canvas
This is my first piece with bluelight. Although it is similar to the hand as light is affecting a figure its evident contrast is that I have the whole upper body of a person along with it being illuminated by bluelight. The process included taking a variety of reference photos, then sketching, and finally painting. Blue is a color that is cold, representing emotions relating to sadness and loneliness; This is congruent with the research relaying the truth that depression is one of the affects of having social media. In this piece I wanted to convey the light affecting not only the mood of the painting, but also have the phone affect the character, giving the portrait a solemn look to display the effect of the light and social media.

"Match" by Anna Hammond, '21

Oil on canvas
This is the first piece I painted for my AP sustained investigation which is ‘how do different light sources affect the mood of a painting?’. The process began with taking a variety of reference photos with different peoples hands, then preceded to sketching, and finally painting. At this point I only had the broad concept of ‘Sources’ for my sustained investigation, but once I finished the painting I had the unique idea to contrast the warmth of fire light and the meaning of the colors, red orange yellow with the cool colors of blue light.

"Sara" by Anna Hammond, '21

Oil on canvas
This piece is the most similar of the firelight to the bluelight as the figure is on a 11x14 canvas and is close to the source of light. You can see the contrast in color and expression. Here the portrait is focused and warm whilst the blue light (relayed in the previous paintings) presents sad and distant figures.

"Creation" by Matthew Kiper, '20

Acrylic on wood
This piece is obviously a parody of Michelangelo’s "The Creation of Adam", one of my favorite paintings. This was my first time experimenting in this style. This is supposed to represent how TV is a blessing for the boarded man.

"Space Man" by Matthew Kiper, '20

Acrylic on wood
This piece was made in a new style for me, and I had to use new techniques. It is supposed to show how I view creativity, the endless possibilities it brings, and how it fills me.

"Time Square" by Matthew Kiper, '20

Colored pencil on paper
For this I showed the drastic steps the media has taken to bombard even our modern day lives in the real world. There is an overflow of media outlets and advertisements seemingly everywhere, taking away our free thinking, and replacing it with advertisements for what they think is best for us. Many become like sheep and listen to every ad the media puts out, telling them to go to this restaurant if they want the best meal, to go this product for a better happier life, to believe these stories that the news spouses put out without all the evidence. With this much controle it seems that many have become dependent on being told what to do and where to shop.

"Twilight Zone" by Matthew Kiper, '20

Colored pencil on paper
It shows the least dramatic impact media could have when it's not overloading one’s view. This is meant to be much closer than the previous piece mentioned, where there isn't an array of media advertisements. This is a peaceful example of the impact media should have. In our lives, it is impossible to escape the media, and in many ways that is a good thing, but there needs to be a limit.

"Lemur" by Zoe Anderle, '22

Ink
In tackling this piece, I had never painted with India ink so it was a first for me. I diluted the ink into a series of tonal values and painted in a series of stains. I selected the lemur for this animal assignment due to the natural coloring it exhibits. The stains made by the ink make the image seem to have appeared on its own.

"Self Portrait" by Zoe Anderle, '22

Acrylic on glass
This acrylic on glass was the result of a project using only found materials during this period of lockdown. My intentions were to go for thicker brushstrokes, focusing on color placement rather than details. It was fun to try something new.

"Venice" by Timmy Bahadoor, '20

Line & wash
My name is Timothy Bahadoor and I am a senior at Pacifica Christian. The reason I chose to do this artwork was because it reminded me of a trip I went on one summer. It was a bright place with lots of color and this is what it reminded me of. The place is in Venice, Italy.

"The Living Desert" by Elyona Brown, '22

Line & wash
I chose this image because The Living Desert in Rancho Mirage CA has always been a place that I grew up going to. From a young age my 6 siblings and I would spend hours exploring the large zoo and come home to write reports on our favorite creature. I really love this place and I hope my admiration for is shown through the attention to detail and how they come together to make up the complete painting.

"Anaitat" by Elyona Brown, '22

Digital
My name is Elyona Brown and I am a Sophomore, and this image was a rendition of my sister. I have often thought of trying to animate faces so this was a first attempt at making features less lifelike and also my first attempt at artwork seriously on my iPad. Being that this assignment was a mixed media, this has been a fun, quirky way of trying new things and making due with what is immediately available. I am just happy that I was able to encourage my peers to do the same with this imperfect yet fun image. I used a combination of ink, watercolor, airbrushes, and colored pencils.

"Tyler Joseph" by Makena Burton, '22

Mixed/gold leaf, graphite & watercolor
This piece is of Twenty One Pilots band member Tyler Joseph. I made this piece in honor of him because his music means so much to me. His music has helped people with depression around the world. The materials that were used are: black India ink, colored pencils, black eyeshadow, white posca pen, watercolor and gold leaf. I wanted to capture his essence in the signature black eyeshadow around his neck and the gold leaf around him to honor him.

"Batuu Outpost" by Makena Burton, '22

Line & wash
This piece is one of the many alleys of Batuu outpost in Disneyland. I wanted to make this because Star Wars holds a special place in my heart. The materials that were used are colored pencils, watercolor and black ink. I wanted to capture the essence of this shadowed alleyway by adding a green alien (Twi’Lek) and other aliens in the shadow in the foreground and the background. Star Wars holds a place in my heart and I wanted to show how much it means to me.

"Self Portrait" by Emily Bush, '23

Mixed/ink & acrylic
My self-portrait was not only my first, but my first piece during the quarantine. I used one of my favorite techniques, ink wash, to paint my face. I was able to find just enough blue acrylic for the background after careful consideration for which color would complete the painting. After a few attempts at sketching faces of family members which did not turn out realistically at all, I was skeptical that I would be able to create a likeness of myself. However, after scouring the art videos sent out as homework, I was able to paint a self-portrait that I was very happy with.

"The Mission Garden" by Emily Bush, '22

Line & wash
This painting is of the Mission in San Juan Capistrano. It was my first line and wash painting in the Pacifica Arts program, and I was very pleased with how it turned out. I chose this location because of its beauty and history, and the memories I have there from when I was little. I also loved the architecture and colors that are unique to the Mission, represented in the bright magenta bougainvillea plants and the adobe bricks and burnt sienna tiles. The painting reminds me of the peace and calming environment that surrounds the Mission.

"Shohei Ohtani" by Marisa Davidson, '21

Mixed/acrylic & newspaper
I chose to paint Shohei Ohtani because he is my favorite baseball player. He is very inspiring and is also on a team I have been a fan of my whole life. My dad and I love watching baseball together, especially when Shohei Ohtani is playing.

"Venice Canal" by Sophia Dwyer, '21

Line & wash
This line and wash style required the sketch to be first drawn in pen, then watercolor paint was applied. I chose an image from my trip to Venice last year. The beauty of this place is evident in every corner of the city.

"Kobe" by Connor Galaz, '23

Graphite
Kobe Bryant was always an inspiration and a hero to me. Growing up, I was a die-hard Lakers fan, and I still am, when Kobe played, even when he was injured, he was my favorite player. He will forever be my favorite player because Kobe showed the best and most competitive attributes for an athlete, he was always determined and would do anything he could to win.

Kobe’s death was a big heartbreak for me, it was one of the first times that I felt extremely sad for someone who I did not know, it felt like losing a family member in some way. To honor Kobe’s legacy I made this portrait, and I embraced the mamba mentality by putting as much effort as I could into it.

"Self Portrait" by Connor Galaz, '23

Digital
Being in quarantine is really tough when it comes to art because I do not have too many
supplies, so when this self-portrait project came along, I made the most of what I have at my home. I used the app Procreate, because it has the best options to make a digital painting or drawing and to express myself. I used the airbrush, and the pen feature for most of the project.

"Happy Place" by Jordan Gomez, '23

Line & wash
Whenever I am hungry at Fashion Island I don’t go to the food court. I go to Whole Foods where I can buy a tray of sushi along with a blueberry pomegranate green tea. This simple meal is what I think of when I visit Fashion Island. I wanted my art to be personal to myself and still for the Newport Beach prompt we were given. The Whole Foods is recognizable to everyone and means something special to me.

"Chinatown" by Grace Jordan, '20

Line & wash
I painted this using watercolor and ink, sketching the city out on watercolor paper before going over with inked outlines and then washing over the top with watercolors. This piece was inspired by San Francisco’s Chinatown, a place my mom and I visited on a trip we took up there. This is a painting of one of the main streets, decorated with festive lanterns. I really like the detail and complexity of the shot that showcases the intricacies we often miss in favor of the larger picture, and wanted to express that in my art. I ultimately chose this piece, however, because I fell in love with the unique style of architecture as two cultures blended together in a wonderful expression of color and style!

"H.B. Pier" by Kelsey Kahlen, '22

Line & wash
This assignment, the line and wash assignment, required us to choose a structure of some sort to paint. I chose the Huntington Beach pier because I have been swimming around it and through it since I was eleven, and I am at that beach every day I’m the summer because of Junior Lifeguards. I wanted to paint something that was familiar and meaningful and the pier did just that.

"Sun Valley" by Will McGuinness, '21

Line & wash
This painting is a barn located right outside Ketchum, Idaho; otherwise known as Sun Valley. The reason I chose this is because my grandparents have a house up there, and we always take a picture by this barn. Although we aren’t always there this barn will always remind me of Sun Valley.

"Self Portrait" by Hannah Novakovich, '20

Mixed/watercolor on glass
I am in 12th grade, and the materials I used in my self-portrait are construction paper, a section from guitar chords, floral origami paper, and watercolor. I chose to do a collage in the background of my self-portrait because it represents my personality and my favorite things. The pale pink construction paper that I used reminds me of a sunset, which I have enjoyed watching and taking pictures of during quarantine. The guitar chords represent my love for guitar, and the origami paper represents springtime, which is my favorite season.

"Desert Truck" by Savannah Parker, '23

Line & wash
Hello, my name is Savannah Parker. I am in 9th grade at Pacifica Orange County High School. The piece I chose is of this old rundown truck on the side of the road, and I chose this piece because it reminds me of the time me and my family drove 8 hours to Utah to go to Lake Powell for an amazing vacation. Even though it was a long drive it was really worth it, and every time I see it, it reminds me of that fantastic trip that we took. Overall this piece is very close to me, and it brings me joy, and I hope it brings you joy too.

"Self Portrait" by Rebecca Penjoyan, '23

Mixed/wax crayon & acrylic
As a freshman at Pacifica and its art program, I have noticed that the skill level does not matter as long as I do my best and try to express myself through the drawings. I chose this portrait because I felt that the methods I used could express me in the best way possible. The messy background could express the chaos that happens in life, but no matter what I always try to stay positive and I showed this with color. In this drawing I used bright colors to express the joys I have in life. I made the hair and background look messy to express the chaos that comes but the beauty you can make of it. In this portrait I used a variety of wax Crayola markers and acrylic paints. To create this i used my fingers for blending and popsicle sticks for scratching and smearing.

"Tower 28" by Aidan Rieke, '23

Line & wash
I chose to paint a picture of Tower 28 because the beach has always been one of my favorite places. It’s a place to admire some of the most extraordinary parts of God’s creation. I also wanted to paint a sunset with Catalina in the background. The beautiful colors and scenery remind me how lucky I am to live at the beach in California!

"The Bean" by Sophia Saulic, '22

Line & wash
I am a sophomore at Pacifica Christian. Chicago is my favorite place to travel. I wanted to draw something in Chicago and therefore, I chose the bean. It is a very famous landmark and something that means a lot to me personally. This piece was both challenging but a lot of fun! Using the pen then going to watercolor was cool and something I had never tried. This is definitely one of my favorite art pieces I’ve done!

"Twilight in Paris" by Maddie Shaves, '22

Line & wash
Paris is my favorite place on Earth. I wanted to capture the beauty of Paris. I wanted the colors and the sparkling Eiffel tower to make people feel happy and magical. I really feel all the emotions of being in Paris when I look at my piece. I chose this picture and this place because it's truly magnificent. I was extremely grateful to get to experience Paris and the beauty of it, I wanted to share that with my art.

"Golden Gate" by Elle Steffens, '22

Line & wash
As my class learned new painting techniques, we were promoted with choosing a location of significance in our life to paint with watercolor. Although it was new to me, I found comfort and relaxation in the process of making this painting. Overcoming challenges, and with much help along the way, I discovered the joy I found in art.

That's a wrap!

Congratulations to our fabulous student artists for their tremendous work! Thank you for joining us for this first virtual art gallery. We look forward to welcoming you into the many exciting happenings in The Arts this upcoming school year.

View Digital Arts Gallery

 

Back to Gallery Home Page

Sign up for our newsletter!

Learn more about our joy-instilling, freedom-producing education by subscribing to our e-Newsletter.