Autumn Cirelli is a Junior at Mount in Mrs. Morissette’s period H Art III Honors class. Her piece, “Home on the Range” depicts a home on a quiet countryside landscape through a unique, vintage lens- provided by its warm hues and contrasting shades of the burnt sienna. Doesn’t it feel nearly nostalgic?
—
Outside of art, what else do you wish to note about yourself as a person, and as a Mountie?
If I’m being completely honest, answering these questions was quite a challenge for me as I don’t particularly enjoy talking about myself, but regardless, feel that I embody the spirit of a Mountie quite well. I am well-rounded in both academics and my extracurricular activities. During the school day, I excel in science classes like AP Bio and Anatomy and hope to pursue this interest further in college. After school, I participate in activities such as basketball and campus ministry.
What was your inspiration for the piece?
My inspiration for this piece was a painting my grandmother bought at a yard sale a couple of months ago of a little shack on a shoreline. While driving through the countryside, I saw this peaceful farmhouse and had to capture its essence in a picture, and later, my painting.
What media did you use to make it?
To make this piece I used watered-down acrylic paint in the color “burnt sienna”. This is commonly known as the technique artists use prior to adding color to map out values of certain objects, also called “underpainting”.
Where/how did your art journey begin?
It is tough to pinpoint exactly when my art journey began as I’ve loved doodling and creating art for as long as I can remember, but if I had to pick a moment it would be when I won a t-shirt drawing contest for a salmon release field trip in 7th grade.
Though I really started to discover my art style within the past year or two while taking art classes here at Mount. This is because Mrs. Morrisette really helped push me to create an assortment of pieces to work on specific principles and/or elements, even when I wasn’t a fan of it.
Was this considered out or in your comfort zone for you? Describe how that makes you feel.
What I’ve discovered recently is that my art style consists of a variety of big, bright, and bold colors, so this piece was very out of my comfort zone. Although it’s not something I would have seen myself doing, it truly was a great way for me to test out different techniques and branch out from what I’m most comfortable with. When it comes to art, I’m always looking for a new way to challenge myself so I can better improve my skills.
—
Autumn’s piece shows the power in simplicity. As an artist who avidly uses bright, contrasting colors in my pieces, “Home on the range” has inspired me to appreciate the power that comes from raw, unmuted media. Autumn proves that less can oftentimes be more.
Autumn, we love your Mount spirit, and cannot wait to see the art you create in the future. Amazing work!