XPI Student Showcase
Welcome to Xpress Plugged In, our new online gallery of student expressions. Please follow the submission instructions CAREFULLY. New work will be posted every Monday.
-- Nancy Green, editor of XPI
Selections for the Week of 10/11/2010
Spotlight on John Schmittau, 11th grade
PCCA at Gibbs High School, St. Petersburg
John on John ...
Well, it all started on a cold January night when one very talented child was born. I was born in February, so that has nothing to do with me. My love for art might have been born in January though, for it's been with me since before my birth.
When I was only three or four years old, I remember killing boredom with art as my accomplice. I drew and painted almost every day, albeit on walls, to ease my boredom. My grandparents didn't exactly understand my "art" but, hey, who could be mad at me? I was a cute little artist.
The time came in kindergarten when I had my first art class. While the other kids were drawing stick figures, I was drawing forms; when they were painting straight out of the tube, I was experimenting with color and different media.
My art really started to take off at Osceola Middle School in Seminole. And then, in the middle of my transition from middle to high school, I discovered something better than diamonds: comic books. I was entranced by the art. The extremely stylized and heavily inked forms inspired not only my personal life but my artistic taste and style. I was hooked instantly.
As a visual arts student at Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School, I have learned a plethora of new techniques every year, and I have watched my artwork improve at the same time. My teachers Ms. Walker and Ms. Hunt have been very helpful in my art career and I can't wait to see what this year holds in store. Later down the road I plan to continue on this art path and possibly attend Ringling College of Art and Design for illustration and become a freelance illustrator.
Artwork by John Schmittau, 16, 11th grade,
PCCA at Gibbs High School, St. Petersburg
Lord of the Rising Mannequin, graphite
My Face, linoleum print
Revolver, View One, mixed media
Revolver, View Two, mixed media
Revolver, View Three, mixed media
Revolver, View Four, mixed media
Them Bones, ink
Funky Music, watercolor
Handscape, ink