Author | April Breedlove |
It’s no surprise that Scholars Guild is filled with a tremendous number of talented students. But one 11th grader, Brianna Fagan, has a special knack for art. In addition to her other numerous hobbies such leading worship at her church, doing makeup, sewing, making jewelry, etc., Brianna loves to draw, and has been doing so for “as long as [she] can remember.” She submitted two extraordinary pieces of art to the Guild Gazette. Brianna created these works for Mrs. Mulkey’s American Literature class. She was tasked with illustrating two of Emily Dickinson’s poems: “She Sweeps with Many Colored Brooms,” as well as “To See Her is a Picture.”
Illustrated by Brianna Fagan. Inspired by “She Sweeps with Many Colored Brooms” by Emily Dickinson
Illustrated by Brianna Fagan. Inspired by “To See Her is a Picture” by Emily Dickinson
Brianna spent many long hours hard at work while creating these pieces of art, meticulously incorporating great detail into each one. She says that drawing the hair and eyes for both girls was the hardest part, and took the longest.
“[The black and white drawing] took me at least 11 hours to draw, and the other one I think… 13 to 15 hours,” said Fagan when asked about the amount of time she spent on each of these pieces. “The sketch took me 11 hours because there wasn’t that much detail. But the drawing with the color, that took me more time because the color in it took more detail… I don’t like the amount of time it takes me to draw, but it’s definitely worth it in the end.”
Spending 13 to 15 hours on one drawing already seems like a challenge, but Brianna mentioned that she once spent 5 weeks illustrating a comic book for one of Mrs. Wright’s literature classes. Talk about dedication!
The art pieces that Brianna submitted are undoubtedly astonishing, but it took a lot of practice for her to reach this level of talent.
“At first, [my drawings] weren’t very intricate, but once I saw how good my dad was, I wanted to be just like him… So around 8th grade I think, I started trying to do real drawings, trying to make copy sketches of real people.”
Fagan not only enjoys drawing people, but also flowers, cartoon animals, and she has recently begun incorporating watercolors into her arsenal of artistic ability, which has been somewhat of a challenge. Despite Brianna’s unmistakable love for art, she mentioned sometimes getting frustrated while trying to use new techniques that she hasn’t mastered yet, such as painting with watercolors. The reason for this is because it stretches out the length of time that she will spend on a piece. Watercolors are one thing that Fagan is still learning to get the hang of, but with a little more practice, she will soon be a pro.
Brianna has a few words of wisdom for anyone who has a desire to be a better artist:
“Keep practicing no matter what. No matter how frustrating it gets, keep practicing… Start with simple drawings, and then add in the details one-by-one.”
Special thanks to Brianna Fagan for agreeing to be interviewed for the Guid Gazette.
If you would like to submit your artwork, short stories, poems, etc. to the Guild Gazette, then click the submissions tab at the top of the page.