This year, Delbarton has twelve artists in the Class of 2024 who displayed their full Sustained Investigations at the annual AP Art Exhibit in the FAC.

Meet our final student artist, Paul Quense '24:

"For my whole life my family has been very active, and I have traveled with my older siblings to go hiking, camping, or just walking on the beach. This led me to develop an avid interest in nature, especially animals," Quense stated in his Artist Statement. With the combination of his love for nature and passion for art, Quense centered his Sustained Investigation around his brother's farm. "Using my photographs of my brother's farm, I have attempted to capture the personalities of his animals, who all have their own unique mannerisms and stories."

Relying on both oil and acrylic paints to bring his artistic visions to life, he focused on brush strokes and texture throughout each piece to emphasize details like fur, feathers, and skin. "I use the emotional power of color to create different moods and atmospheres in my work, from two cows in conflict to a mother goat comforting her kid," he said. He also pays close attention to shadows and highlights, with shiny eyes being a common feature in all his paintings. "Looking at royal portraiture from past centuries, I have taken aspects to apply to the animals, giving them a sense of nobility and personification."

He concluded his Artist Statement by saying, "I naturally tend to be more rigid in my interpretations of color and form, wanting to portray the animals as realistically as possible, however as I have progressed I have worked to push my comfort zone and strive for a more Impressionistic style of painting. With these techniques, I hope to give the animal portraits a similar level of distinction, normally reserved for human subjects."

We salute Paul and his fellow AP Art artists for their exceptional achievements in the arts at Delbarton. Thank you to all twelve of our AP Artists for sharing their talents with us this year!