A.P Draw, Paint, Print Senior Spotlight Interview: Lauren Conners

The AP Drawing Portfolio is an intensive course, requiring students to produce art at the college level. Students compile a portfolio of 15-20 original artworks demonstrating mastery in composition, technique, and concept. They pursue the WHY behind their own artistic process and participate in weekly critiques of classmates’ work, as well as submit completed pieces approximately every two weeks. Be sure to mark your calendar for the Senior AP Art Portfolio Show in the Berg Gallery on the evening of April 24.

“Lauren Conners has always loved art, her work this year demonstrates mastery of composition, technique, and unity of concept,” said instructor Rebecca Hoadley. “I noticed Lauren’s love of painting during the monochromatic self portrait project in 9th grade. Since that time, Lauren’s skill has steadily increased due to her dedication to practice at home. Her award winning artworks have been displayed in every gallery on campus, as well as in the Main Library downtown!”

Lauren, what is the central idea of your concentration?

The central idea of my concentration is the mind’s tendency to romanticize the past. I have always found that I remember moments in my mind as brighter and more colorful than the actual moment was. The goal of my concentration is to capture the beauty and nostalgia of my memories as a child, while incorporating magical elements.

How does your work demonstrate the exploration of your idea?

As my concentration has progressed, I have striven to create realistic portrayals of the people in my memories, while also using my creative license to change the backgrounds to match the romanticized picture in my mind. In order to accomplish this, I have mixed bright colors and soft edges to create the glowing effect.

How the idea has evolved over the year?

I originally wanted to paint only from a single location. However, as I started painting, I realized that the memories dearest to me stem from all different locations. What is really important is the people in the memories, so over time I expanded my concentration in order to fully explore the magic of my memories.

Can you explain your artistic process? Where do you gain inspiration?

I gain inspiration from my feelings.Throughout the process, I have been driven by feelings of nostalgia looking back on my life in the past. The desire to capture the warm feeling that I associate with these memories in my paintings has inspired me.

What do you hope the viewer to see in your artwork?

I would like the viewer to feel the glow emitted from my work. The glow captures the feelings of happiness and nostalgia with each memory, and I hope that each viewer will feel the same happiness when they look at my work.

How long have you been making art? And when did you start to feel independent and like you were truly making your own work?

I started making art when I was in PreK. I went from simple arts and crafts to being able to create an entire concentration for AP. I would say I started to feel truly independent at the beginning of the eleventh grade. At this point, we had begun brainstorming for ideas for our concentration. As the year progressed, I learned from each painting what I liked and didn’t like. This was when I felt like I was adopting my own artistic style, that I am continuing to develop throughout this year.