Emily Parkhurst – 11th Grade

“Art is something that brings me a lot of joy, it’s both simple and complicated and brings people together. Art is a part of history and helps form the foundation of what we know today. Without art we would probably live in a very sad world. I’ve been doing art for as long as I can remember, I’ve been a very creative kid since the time I could pick up a pencil. My favorite medium is painting, but I also really enjoy and kind of mixed media art.”

“Growing Old” – Acrylic Paint

“I think the inspiration behind this piece was just appreciating and taking in the things around us, but I also took inspiration from my grandparents and how they just went through life nice and slow. They didn’t stop to worry, they just took it all in. It means a lot to me because my grandparents have always been a big part of my life. When someone looks at this painting I’d like them to see something peaceful, and give them a reminder to take things in. This painting probably took around four to five hours total because I like things to be as close to perfect as I can get them and it’s made with acrylic paint.”

“Light in the Dark” – Acrylic Paint

“The inspiration for this painting was John 1:5 and it states, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it”. This piece means a lot to me because that is my favorite scripture. That verse is one I think everyone should know because when things get hard we have to remember that the light never fails, God will always come out on top. This painting took probably around two hours to complete and was also made with acrylic paint.”

“Mr. Gentry” – Mixed Media

“If you couldn’t guess, I took inspiration from one of my favorite teachers, Mr. Mark Gentry. I managed to get a point-five picture of him and painted it based off of that picture. Mr. Gentry has been a huge inspiration in my life because he is kind and very very patient. He interacted with the students and has such a good bond with pretty much all of us. He shows Christ in all that he does and I can see that even though he’s not technically teaching us, he still shines Christ in and out of the classroom. This painting took a few days of work and was made using acrylic paint, pages from a book, music paper and regular old color paper.”

This picture is currently on the wall in Mr. Gentry’s classroom!