@filipeneves_art
“Filipe Neves painting of Rīgas 72. vidusskola. I graduated in plastic arts in Portugal and in this drawing I show my technique that I use. I hope you like it, my technique shows a lot of my life and personal path in which it defines me. I was a person who was never in the same place. So you see many traits. It takes a long time to acquire your personal trait because you have to make a lot of drawings. Don't worry about making the right design right away, it comes by itself.
Hope this helped you a lot...”
@kaurs_artwork
"Hello to the students . I am very glad that I got the opportunity to be a part of this project. I am currently doing my masters in accounting and finance. I was always good at sketching and drawing but I was always scared of painting , so the lockdown in 2020 gave me the opportunity to face my fears as I didn't have anything to do in lockdown I started painting and whatever the outcome was the process was so relaxing , it helped me to calm down and appreciate everything. So for me art is the way to relax and it gives me happiness of creating something never made it that particular way. I hope this will encourage students towards Arts.”
Damandeep Kaur
@cindyshaoul
"Hi Rigas,
I hope that you are doing well and I’ve completed the piece, I hope that it will inspire many students and help them achieve their goals of creative self expression.
What this painting means to me is that when you believe in yourself anything is possible. To follow your dreams is the biggest challenge of life, but if everyday you practice what you love, and you set aside time for that, over time, your dreams do come true. Do something everyday that makes you feel creative, even if you just sketch something, or take a long walk to become inspired by nature, it will help on the road to your journey of artistic self expression. Day by day with practice, you will feel more and more confident with your abilities to create.”
Cindy Shaoul
Other works of the artist can be seen on her website and Instagram:
The painting is titled “Dreams are what You Make”
Oil on heavy weight paper 24 x 18 inches
@phylindamoore
“Art is foundational to me. I’m most in flow when making art. Art restores me, helps me figure out the world, and makes me happy. For me, the source of art- from the child drawing with a crayon to the experienced adult creating an intricate work- is the same. The difference is just a matter of focus, desire, and skill building over time. Some things I like to keep in mind that have helped me over the years:
!. trust the line
!. let your vision become- it will always surprise you
!. continue to play, experiment, create
!. respect what others make
For this project:
Lately I’ve been experimenting with transmutations- how things change from form to form and often screen to screen. The way traditional art making and digital resources intersect and serve each other. For example, I’ll see something on a walk. I’ll take a picture of what catches my eye. I might print out the picture. Then paint the picture / draw something from the picture/ or use the photo directly in a collage. Then I’ll upload the artwork somewhere where other people can see it (my website or social media). I might go on to create a new image from the original artwork using digital manipulation. And the process continues. The viewer takes this process further still.
Painting your school is a perfect example of these physical and digital transformations. The school exists. Someone took a picture of the school from their chosen perspective. Someone chose the picture for the art project (perhaps the same person.) The picture goes out to each artist who will likely first experience the school as an image on a screen. Then each artist translates the same image through their unique style. They must scan or take a picture of their artwork to send back to the school. The digital image is then posted so as to be viewable on screen. Each image serves a unique purpose. We often take these individuals steps for granted, and our experience in viewing the final product is seamless. I find the space and possibility with each version worth looking into.
My contribution for the Rigas 72 project explores these ideas- I received the picture and created an ink drawing of the school. I scanned the ink drawing into a design program and manipulated it by adding 7 layers of the image. I then printed this layered image out and created two versions: in one, I added watercolor. In the other, I cut up the image and wove it back together.
Thank you for including me in the project. I’ve enjoyed looking at your art filled Facebook page very much!”
Phylinda Moore
@lk__design__
“Art is a large part of my life; it truly always has been. It is my hobby that I thoroughly enjoy, create something beautiful from a blank canvas is truly a great achievement, whether that's on a page that no one ever sees or upon the stars. To those that feel the same whether artistic or not, my advice would be to draw. Draw what you wish to and what brings you and others joy.”
Luke Kelly
@shimpapu.art
"Hello to students of the school in Riga from me - Helen Shimko.
I drew your school and hope you like my sketch. Despite I have a diploma of engineer- programmer and started my professional road as a Quality Assuarance engineer up to Project Manager, right now I’m a painter on a full time. Painting for me is to telling my own story- my own vision of things and life. I have started painting from time to time like a hobby, but right now I happy to draw on regular- almost every day, continuous learning and practice in different techniques: acrylic, watercolor, colored pencils and pastel. So I changed my life following my dream- be a painter with no fear and full of inspiration this exciting art world. More about me and my artworks you can find on my Instagram and Facebook:"
@crowmiti
Sixteenth work in the series of creative interpretations of our school. This drawing was made for us by Adam from Barcelona. Here’s what he says:
“I would say to the young artists that if the result it's bad, you don't have to feel bad about that, no one was born knowing how to do anything. Practice and constancy are the key.
I'd also tell them that it's fine to break the rules of drawing and have fun.
Not all drawings need to be perfect, the most important part of drawing is the "travel", the moment where you are free and you can draw anything that you want. You want to draw a blue dog? Just draw it! Have fun! You want to mix two techniques? Just do it!”
Adam’s other works can be seen on his Instagram:
@marta_lucin
Marta Lučin, an artist from Trogir, Croatia, currently based in Florida, has created for us this wonderful illustration, which became the fifteenth in this project. The artist doesn’t write anything about herself, but here’s what her Instagram profile says:
MA art / Sculptor / Illustrator / Cat person / Bibliophile /
Zero Waste Thinker
Marta’s other works can be seen on her Instagram:
@an.ja.schaefer.art
The fourteenth work in a series of artistic interpretations of our school. It was created for us by an artist named Anja Schäfer. Our heartfelt thanks for her participation in this project! 😇
"Hi, my name is Anja and I just finished law school in Munich, Germany. Corona times made me discover my love for acrylic painting and sketching as I needed a balance for my busy days of studying at home. I enjoyed art as a subject back in high school but it never really caught me until now. Painting has something meditating, though very exciting. I love it when things come together to a piece that you feel proud of. It is never too late to start something new. Just try different arts and crafts and see if something brings joy to you. Don’t get discouraged if the first try is not what you went for. I assure you that you will get better really fast if you have some practice. It was a lot of fun to paint your school, best wishes!"
@sarah.sketches0
The thirteenth creative interpretation of our school was made by an artist from Bristol, United Kingdom. Her name is Sarah. She is one of the several artists, who agreed to help us when we had no new artwork to publish on Friday before last 😊 We are very grateful to her for her help and for participating in this project!
Sarah wrote only two sentences about herself:
“I am a self-taught artist working with inks and digital mediums. I am very happy to add something to this great project!”
Sarah’s other works can be seen on her Instagram:
@tauseefstudio
It is with great joy that we publish this twelfth artistic interpretation of our school building! It was made my Tauseef, whom we told about last Sunday. We are super grateful for his kindness! 😄👍
“I am a freelance illustrator from India who loves creating architecture and automotive illustrations. I sometimes also do urban landscape and still life drawings. My favourite art mediums are watercolor and ballpoint pen.
When I was in school I used to do a lot of sketching and painting. The last pages of most of my notebooks were filled with sketches of motorcycles, cars, robots, buildings and all kinds of weird stuff. Growing up I never thought of becoming a professional artist. I come from a background where education in science and other professional courses was always given an upper hand compared to arts and humanities at that time. So just like everyone else around me I too went on to pursue a degree in engineering. I completed my bachelors in civil engineering and masters in environmental engineering. I won’t say I didn’t enjoy my time studying engineering. I learnt a lot of cool things during those 6 years. However there was always this little feeling inside that I could make better use of my skills and abilities in a creative field.
After completing my education I started to realize that my passion for creating art was more powerful than a desire to work a 9-5 job. In 2013 during my last year of college I signed up on a freelancing website to offer custom hand drawn illustrations. What started as a fun experiment slowly transformed into a full time job. Initially I had a lot of uncertainties about the sustainability of my career choice. Because during those times there was nobody in my peers list working as a freelance artist or illustrator to guide me or whom I could look up to. So naturally there was some apprehension but with consistent efforts it disappeared with time. Over the years I have had the good fortune of working on a large number of illustration projects for a variety of industries. I still consider myself a student of art and that learning never stops.
Currently I am working with a few real estate firms where I create watercolor architectural renderings of homes and properties. I am also planning to do a series of watercolor automobile illustrations inspired by vintage and modern cars and motorcycles later this year. I also publish time-lapse/speed painting videos and tutorials on my YouTube channel ‘Tauseef Ahmed Art’ for anyone to have a look at my process.
When I received your message I was a little surprised and interested at the same time. Surprised because this was the first time ever that I received an email from Latvia. I found it really interesting that the goal of this project is to inspire and spark self expression among students through art. The idea of having different artists from all over the world recreating the same subject in their own styles is an interesting concept. I think it is a great way of inculcating appreciation for art and that every school should work on projects like this. I thank you for this opportunity and wish you all the best for the future”.
Tauseef’s other works can be seen on his website and Instagram:
tauseefahmedart.com
@justindrawsagain
Eleventh work in the series of artistic interpretations of our school. The artist's name is Justin, but we don't know where he's from :) Here’s what he writes about himself on his website:
“Up until my teens, I cannot remember a time previous that I wasn't drawing. Art was my greatest passion and I always had a sketchbook and a pen or pencil with me wherever I went. In my mid-teens, however, my pen was replaced by a guitar, and thus music, songwriting, and composing became my sole pursuit in creativity, education, and career for the next 18 years of my life. After that long hiatus, one random morning I had a shower thought: "I used to love drawing so much; why did I stop? Hey, maybe I should just give it a try again." Well, that night I took out an old sketchbook and pencils and I was hooked again. I was reunited with my childhood passion, bolstered by a desire to continually learn and improve. After encouragement from those close to me to share my development on social media, I then received further encouragement to bring my art to a wider audience and into people's homes and business spaces.
I enjoy experimenting in many different mediums, from watercolor and colored pencils to markers and charcoal. My favorite medium, however, is all forms of pen and ink: technical pens, dip pens, ink wash, and even the often underrated ball-point pen! I am most drawn to representing landscapes and architecture in a more detailed and realistic style, but the challenge of novel subjects always awaits.”
Other works of the artist can be seen on his Instagram:
@tracyhatcherart
A tenth work in this little project of artistic interpretations of our school building. 😊 Thanks to the artist Tracy Hatcher for her work! Here is what she writes:
“I am a Liverpool based artist, nurse, wife and mother of three who splits my time between nursing and painting. I use my art as an outlet to deal with the stress and more difficult aspects of my job. Art has always been my passion and my style of art reflects my love of the quirky and interesting. My tastes are quite eclectic and range from Art Deco, fantasy, nature, architecture, literature and illustration. I take inspiration from the world around me, and interpret it in my own style. My favourite medium is pen, ink and watercolour.
Thank you for including me in your project, I thoroughly enjoyed taking part. I think that it is a fantastic way to show how different artists interpret the same scenes."
Tracy Hatcher
The artist’s other works can be seen on her Instagram:
@davidsteedenart
A ninth work in the series of artistic interpretations of our school. Once gain done in colorful tones of spring! Here’s what the artist writes to us:
“Hi to all students at Rigas 72 Vidusskola secondary school.
My name is David Steeden. I have a degree in engineering and have travelled the world for many years in my job as an industrial valuer of machinery and equipment.
However, having now retired from work, I can concentrate on my art, which now plays a big part in my life.
I always prefer to sketch on location outside. This helps me to observe more closely my chosen subject.
I paint in many different media, but for sketching on location I prefer the immediacy of pen and ink in sketchbooks. I usually do the actual sketch at my chosen venue, which can be further worked on in my studio using watercolour washes to add depth and definition to the sketch.
For those who enjoy sketching or painting, my advice is to just keep practising, practising, practising and don’t worry if you make mistakes.
To me, art is about observation and simplifying what you see into the right shapes for you to give your impression of the subject. Perspective, whether distorted or not, plays a major role in many sketches and a good understanding of the rules is key to a good sketch.
I do hope you like the sketch of your school and if so, do take a look at my Instagram page, @davidsteedenart where you will find sketches and paintings of many different subjects in a variety of styles. I post every day, so do either follow me or look out for my sketches.”
David’s works can bee seen on his Instagram:
Thank you, David! 😘
@gobas_art
Spring is coming! 🌳😄🌼 A fine harbinger of the changing season is this painting done in spring color tones created for us by a Spanish artist that goes under the name Gobas This is the eighth installation in the series of artistic interpretations of our school building which are made by foreign artists at our invitation. We are infinitely grateful to all the participants for their wonderful creations! Thank you! 😘
A few words from the artist:
"I'm from Spain, I live in a northern city called Santander. I started drawing as a child, copying drawings from comics and it's a hobby that I have and that I continue to practice now when I grow up. My true profession is 3D Infographics (www.raidenstudio.com), also related to the artistic world.
There are only three ways to be good at an art activity: 1) practice, 2) practice, and 3) practice."
Other works of Gobas can be seen on his Instagram:
@ingridmeganck_art
A seventh work in a series of artistic interpretations of our school! 😃
“Hello everyone,
My name is Ingrid Meganck and this is my offering to your school’s wonderful art project.
I was born in Pretoria, South Africa and now live in Wales, United Kingdom. I’m a part time artist who has just begun to sell my artwork. I like to use different art media including oils, acrylics, watercolour and pen. My favourite subjects are nature and wildlife and I also like to paint scenes of places I visit.
Unfortunately, when I was in high school they cancelled art studies. However, I didn’t let that stop me pursuing my interest in art. I am so pleased to see that your school is encouraging you all to take an interest in creative studies. I wish you all well with your studies and encourage you to enjoy your journey in developing your own creativity.
I have been enriched by my own journey learning to paint and have used my skills throughout my travels all over the world. You too can enjoy art wherever your lives take you.
Best Wishes,
Ingrid Meganck”
Ingrid’s works can be seen on her Instagram:
@jonnyhgallardo
A sixth work in the series of artistic interpretations of our school was created by Professor Jonny Gallardo from National University of Córdoba-Argentina.
A little about him:
An Architect, professional, professor, specialist in furniture design and commercial architecture, with 25 years of experience. Working at National University of Cordoba in the Faculty of Architecture, Planning and Design (Faud UNC).
Other works of the artist can be seen on his Instagram:
@dashingcanal
A fifth painting by a foreign artist depicting our school - in an extraordinary style! 😃 Here’s what he writes:
“Hello, friends of painting,
I am happy that the school has invited me to paint the school building.
I live in Switzerland, and have been drawing since childhood. Then, at a young age, I started to paint pictures based on motifs from my imagination.
After working as a programmer for many years to earn a living, I started painting again. Now I paint from photos and with the help of computer programs. With the internet, I can look at many more works by other painters than was possible before.
For me, painting is like a game of skill. In the
process I try to achieve goals: First pressing form and colour together, then
keeping a balance of momentum and fine work. I stick to the figurative style
because the forms of our daily life, even in
their mutation, their exaggeration and dissolution, seem much more attractive
to me than completely abstract patterns.
My paintings contain no symbolism and no hidden
messages. They are the humble mirror of a life in the present time.
Jürg Klingler”
Jürg’s works can be seen at the following websites:
http://dashing.ch
https://www.instagram.com/dashingcanal/
https://www.instagram.com/klinglerartist/
@yueysketches
A fourth creation depicting our school, made at our invitation by an artist from the other side of the globe 😊 A thousand thanks to him for this incredible work!
Here’s what he writes:
“A little bit about me, my name is Yuey Chen, I live in Toronto, Canada. I work in the financial industry as a risk
manager, and I am a hobby sketcher, particularly of wonderful buildings from
around the world.
Art plays a very important role in my life. I started drawing at a young age, copying comic books and sports team logos. I really enjoyed the process of creating an image with my hand, from a blank piece of paper. I studied Art and Architectural History when I went to university, which I think instilled in me this life-long passion I have for art. Even though I don’t work in the art industry, my love for art has let me to continue to draw in my spare time. I’m also proud to say that my two sons, 6 and 2, also appear to enjoy drawing. :)”
Yuey’s works can be seen on his Instagram: