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Justin Terry, Young Artist

Read Along with Justin Terry’s Artist Talk

Hi. My name is Justin Terry. I enjoy taking art classes here with other teens rather than alone or at school. When I am alone I don’t have anybody to bounce ideas off of and at school I don’t get the same freedom that I do here to make what I want. I also don’t have to worry about getting a bad grade. 

Colors motivate me to make art. I never know what I’m going to make before I make it. I just mix colors until I find the color I like and then I just let the piece give me ideas as I go. 

When I’m older I want to be an architect. I’ve always been very interested in architectural design. And that is why some of my pieces may demonstrate architectural elements. This piece has a sense of volume and lots of straight lines. That, to me, shows some architectural elements. 

My favorite pieces of mine are my self portrait etchings. I like that they can be as simple or as complicated as I want. They can show every wrinkle and strand of hair or they can be – like mine – a simple outline with a couple of details here and there. And it still resembles me. These etchings are made by using a sharp etching tool on a plexi glass plate and scratching in the lines until I get the effect I want. Then I ink up the plate, which is very important – that’s when I get to decide how I want the tone or feeling of the print. You can make it dark and shadowy or mainly light, or express the tone you want to give off in general. Then once the print is done and dry, you can choose to go back in and add colors. I added color in the clothing, a little in the hair, and in the background on this one. 

I would like to thank the person who sponsored my art classes. Thank you all for listening to my talk. Have a great day.