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The Piedmont Highlander

The Piedmont Highlander

Yu’s art featured on East Bay Monthly cover

Yus+art+featured+on+East+Bay+Monthly+cover

Crouched over the tall desks of the art classroom, a student shades in colors of deep blue on one side of his painting and brown red on the other with chalk pastel, creating a rich color contrast. Little did he know that within a few months his artwork would win first place in the East Bay Monthly’s 12th annual cover contest.

“Students in Art II and III were requested to enter the competition and Art I students were also invited to enter” Art Teacher Gillian Bailey said.

The entry into the contest was voluntary and the students were allowed to choose which three pieces they wanted to enter.

Junior Robert Yu’s piece, titled “Stroll in the Park” is featured on the September issue of the East Bay Monthly. “Stroll in the Park conveys a sense of love with two worlds coming together and two people walking in the middle taking a wonderful journey together” Yu said.

Yu said that he really strived to touch people emotionally with this piece,

“I want them to feel something, whether it is the rich color contrast, the flow, or the overall quality of it.”

Yu said that although he worked extremely hard on this piece, he did not expect to win at all. It took him about three weeks to complete and he was very happy and surprised when he got the call that he had won.

“I just worked really hard on it so I wanted to give it a shot. I have always loved serene and tranquil scenery, along with beautiful parks. This piece combines both the serene scenery and the park, to embody a sense of peacefulness.”

Junior Leslie Zhang also did not expect to win anything in this contest when she submitted,

“I wasn’t expecting anything because I felt it didn’t really suit the monthly’s covers’ typical aesthetic, but I ended up winning 2ndplace” she said.

Senior Xinyue Wang was also pleasantly surprised when she placed third in the cover contest. Her piece entitled “Early Morning Chinatown” was created using acrylic paints.

“I have gained more confidence in my paintings, and I think I’ll participate in more competitions in the future” Wang said.

Bailey expected her students to do well in this competition,

“Their artwork submission choices were original, expressive and colorful which are great attributes for cover art,” she said.

Yu said that this experience has inspired him to draw and experiment more, as well as push his creative boundaries. He said he has now become much more confident in his artwork,

“Prior to The Monthly, I was pretty timid in showing people my artwork and asking for critiques. Now, I am open to interpretation and willing to grow as an artist. This experience has taught me to be more outgoing and more willing to try new things.”
Bailey believes that PHS students place highly each year because of their talent, thoughtfulness, and amount of effort.

“We really do have a tremendous amount of dedicated student artists who really put their all into their artwork and that care shows in the finished work,” Bailey said

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