SNOW HILL–To celebrate Youth Art Month, the Art League of Ocean City displayed the works of middle and high school students from across the county in its Shirley Hall youth art show in March.
Two seniors at Snow Hill High School, Kasey Jones and Bethany Belton, took home top awards for their drawings in the show.
They comprise their high school’s entire AP Art class.
“Art is a way to harness what you’re feeling and put it on a piece of paper,” Belton said. “It’s pure creativity.”
“It’s been a really big part of me,” Jones said. “Without all of that, I don’t know what I would be.”
Belton got her start in the artistic world while doodling on her homework. With the help of teachers, she developed her own style, which often combines several real-world elements into one surreal human-animal hybrid — from a red panda dancing in gipsy attire to Buddy Holly portrayed as a poodle.
“There are no bounds,” she said.
When she was in elementary school, Jones’ teachers noticed she drew human figures in much greater detail than her classmates’ stick figures, she said. She’s been focusing on depicting faces ever since, and some come in surprising forms.
From a series of close-up encounters with insects’ visages to her recent work on elderly faces cast with distinguishing lines, Jones uses pencils and colored pencils, pastels and other media to create her large-scale works.
“Every face is unique. It has different eyes, different angles,” she said. “Every face is beautiful in its own way.”
Both students have run the gamut of art classes at Snow Hill High School, from Art I and II to Advanced Art and finally the AP class. Jones spends more than two hours a day in the studio during the school week, while Belton gets 45 minutes of class time.
“Drawing is my passion,” Jones said. “Without going back into drawing in high school, I wouldn’t know what I wanted to do in college,” where she plans to take art history and theatrical makeup classes.
Belton likewise wants to take art courses after high school, though she said she plans to study animal behavior.
“It’s something I really enjoy,” she said. “It’s a catharsis. Other people go to sports practice and lay waste to the field. When I’m angry, I make art.
“I think it’s really helping me understand me, but at the same time, people will look over my shoulder and say, ‘Hey, that’s really good,’” she said. “It’s made me feel proud of myself.”
Both Belton and Jones placed high in the Ocean City-Berlin Optimist Club’s art show in January, with Belton earning a first for her painting and Jones taking home second for a drawing.
They also earned high marks at the Wicomico Women’s Club art show recently, where Jones pulled a first and Belton earned a second place ribbon. Their works went on to the regional show at Easton and will compete in the statewide competition in Baltimore.
“Not only can they keep up with the art work, but they can keep up with their academic classes,” their AP Art teacher Tom Hogan said. “Art’s been a godsend for many of my students.”
Two seniors at Snow Hill High School, Kasey Jones and Bethany Belton, took home top awards for their drawings in the show.
They comprise their high school’s entire AP Art class.
“Art is a way to harness what you’re feeling and put it on a piece of paper,” Belton said. “It’s pure creativity.”
“It’s been a really big part of me,” Jones said. “Without all of that, I don’t know what I would be.”
Belton got her start in the artistic world while doodling on her homework. With the help of teachers, she developed her own style, which often combines several real-world elements into one surreal human-animal hybrid — from a red panda dancing in gipsy attire to Buddy Holly portrayed as a poodle.
“There are no bounds,” she said.
When she was in elementary school, Jones’ teachers noticed she drew human figures in much greater detail than her classmates’ stick figures, she said. She’s been focusing on depicting faces ever since, and some come in surprising forms.
From a series of close-up encounters with insects’ visages to her recent work on elderly faces cast with distinguishing lines, Jones uses pencils and colored pencils, pastels and other media to create her large-scale works.
“Every face is unique. It has different eyes, different angles,” she said. “Every face is beautiful in its own way.”
Both students have run the gamut of art classes at Snow Hill High School, from Art I and II to Advanced Art and finally the AP class. Jones spends more than two hours a day in the studio during the school week, while Belton gets 45 minutes of class time.
“Drawing is my passion,” Jones said. “Without going back into drawing in high school, I wouldn’t know what I wanted to do in college,” where she plans to take art history and theatrical makeup classes.
Belton likewise wants to take art courses after high school, though she said she plans to study animal behavior.
“It’s something I really enjoy,” she said. “It’s a catharsis. Other people go to sports practice and lay waste to the field. When I’m angry, I make art.
“I think it’s really helping me understand me, but at the same time, people will look over my shoulder and say, ‘Hey, that’s really good,’” she said. “It’s made me feel proud of myself.”
Both Belton and Jones placed high in the Ocean City-Berlin Optimist Club’s art show in January, with Belton earning a first for her painting and Jones taking home second for a drawing.
They also earned high marks at the Wicomico Women’s Club art show recently, where Jones pulled a first and Belton earned a second place ribbon. Their works went on to the regional show at Easton and will compete in the statewide competition in Baltimore.
“Not only can they keep up with the art work, but they can keep up with their academic classes,” their AP Art teacher Tom Hogan said. “Art’s been a godsend for many of my students.”