Drawing and Painting -Il”Luna”nating Great Art

1 April 2023Novella R, Hope ‘25

Every arts afternoon, talented Brentwood artists wander into the studios to do work that displays the rhythmic strokes of the paintbrush on colourful canvas. In the four blocks of Drawing and Painting, new and experienced artists work to develop their artistic abilities and explore their creativity.

Mr John Luna is the Drawing and Painting teacher. His passion and experience are valuable to any eager artist who wants to learn and develop their skill. Sophia H, Hope ‘24 reflects, “We are able to explore our creativity while also having guidelines. Also, having Mr Luna help us apply techniques that we otherwise would not know really helps develop our artistic abilities.”

The class works on educating artists on all the skills necessary to understand every aspect of their work. The Drawing and Painting Captain, Kailey V, Hope ‘23, explained, “Mr. Luna does a good job of giving critiques for every level. For beginners, he suggests they balance their strokes, and for more advanced artists, he suggests they add minor details that they may have never thought of.”

Walking down the hall of the Arts Building, music seeps through the classroom doors. As you peek into the art studio, a dozen artists who vary in skill stand in front of their developing work, critiquing the small details. Mr Luna discusses, “Putting in the time, making work, and dealing with all those issues, makes artists. I can’t rationalize an art thinking process. So there has to be a level of struggle that’s going to happen, and everyone here together is involved in a struggle together even if they don’t change information. It confronts that contradiction and paranoia.”

Throughout the year, the class works with acrylic paint and architecture, oil paintings, and self-portraits. As each painting emerges, you can see how each artist is developing and maturing. “It is wonderful to walk into the class and see the variety of creative inspirations. You get to do portraiture, landscape, post-modernism, and you get to explore all of your mediums,” observes Ms Edna Widenmaier, Director of Arts. Each artist gets to work with their creativity and explore new techniques as they grow as an artist.

Care to grab a brush?

Novella R, Hope ‘25

Where Students Choose To Be