Last year, the DEGA International Art association launched a scholarship program to offer free art workshops and classes to talented students. Sophomore Macario DeLeon and junior Danielle MacCarthy were two of the students chosen to participate in the portrait drawing workshop over the summer.

“Being selected for the DEGA scholarship felt nice since there were some really great artists in the class,” MacCarhty said. “During the classes, I loved learning different ways of creating a picture and using soft pastels.”

Art has always been a part of McCarthys life and she has used it in ways to express herself as she developed as an artist.

“I’ve been doing art since as long as I can remember,” MacCarthy said. “My mom bought me long rolls of paper that went with a board, and I would finger paint outside for hours.”

Creating art is not an easy task, but portraiture provides its own set of obstacles that are unique to portraying the human form.

“The hardest part of working on a portrait is getting the rough shapes completed,” MacCarthy said. “Knowing that the shape is not the final product and being okay with that can be difficult.”

Deleon also appreciated the scholarship opportunity as it allowed him to push himself in new directions as an artist.

“Being selected for the scholarship was pretty cool,” DeLeon said. “ I wasn’t sure about doing it because of COVID, but it was a really nice experience and I learned a lot of useful tips.”

DeLeon chose to create a black and white charcoal portrait of Malcom X because of his relation to the civil rights movement. The black and white charcoal allowed him to explore a new medium and develop an additional skill set.

“I learned a lot of art techniques and learned how to work with charcoal while creating my portrait,” DeLeon said. “Doing a charcoal portrait was really a tedious process that involved a lot of layering, but in the end it was definitely worth it.”

Both students developed a deeper appreciation of portraiture through the camp and were proud of their final products.

“Doing a portrait is a fun process,” DeLeon said. “Art in general is really fun, so when I am going through the process its worth it to know it’ll turn out good.”

Last year the DEGA International Art Association together with Degallery launched a scholarship program to offer free art workshops and classes to talented students. Sophomore Macario DeLeon and junior Danielle MacCarthy were two of the students chosen to participate in the portrait drawing workshop over the summer. 

“Being selected for the DEGA scholarship felt nice since there were some really great artists in the class,” MacCarthy said. “During the classes, I loved learning a different way of creating a picture and using the soft pastels.”

Art has always been a part of MacCarthy’s life and she has used it as a way to express herself as she has developed as an artist.

“I’ve been doing art since as long as I can remember,” MacCarthy said. “My mom bought me long rolls of paper that went with a board, and I would finger paint outside for hours.”

Creating art is not an easy task, but portraiture provides its own set of obstacles that are unique to portraying the human form.

“The hardest part of working on a portrait is getting the rough shapes completed,” MacCarthy said. “Knowing that the shape is not the final product and being okay with that can be difficult.”

DeLeon also appreciated the scholarship opportunity as it allowed him to push himself in new directions as an artist.

“Being selected for the scholarship was pretty cool,” DeLeon said. “I wasn’t sure about doing it because of COVID, but it was a really nice experience and I learned lots of useful tips.”

DeLeon chose to create a black and white charcoal portrait of Malcolm X because of his relation to the civil rights movement. The black and white charcoal allowed him to explore a new medium and develop an additional skill set. 

“I learned a lot of art techniques and learned how to work with charcoal while creating my portrait,” DeLeon said. “Doing a charcoal portrait was a really tedious process that involved a lot of layering, but in the end it was definitely worth it.”

Both students developed a deeper appreciation of portraiture through the camp and were proud of their final products.

“Doing a portrait is a fun process,” DeLeon said. “Art in general is really fun, so when I am going through the process it’s worth it to know it’ll turn out good.”