Year 7 students at Witchford Village College, a secondary school on the outskirts of Ely, have impressed well known artist Sarah Graham with their latest art project, after teachers shared colourful images of the project on social media.
Influenced by Graham and her impressive photorealism techniques, art teachers at the College set the new Year 7 cohort a project which asked students to create their own colour drawing of a piece of Graham’s art. Beginning with creating a baseline drawing assessment of a sweet of their choice, this was then followed by students carrying out their own research and, depending on their confidence with the necessary technique, finally creating a series of colour drawings.
Andrew Carruth, class teacher in Photography & Art at Witchford Village College, said: “Starting at a new school in what has been an extraordinary year hasn’t been an easy feat for our new Year 7 cohort, therefore we have been keen to provide them with exciting and challenging art lessons in order to drive their creativity. The art work created as part of this project has been fantastic and it’s been a joy to see the students so engaged and excited about refining their techniques.”
Once the students had completed the work, a montage image of all of the drawings was shared on the College’s social media channels, which was picked up by Graham who praised the work of the group. Graham said: “I thought the students’ observations and interpretations of my work were brilliant. I am very impressed and I hope that they are inspired to go on their own artistic adventures.”
Graham is a British painter who works almost exclusively in oil on canvas. Her paintings have been displayed in private collections across the world and in 2012 was commissioned by the Kaiser Chiefs to paint the album cover for their singles collection ‘Souvenir’, which was released worldwide.
Carruth continued: “The fact that the artist who this project was influenced by noticed the students’ artwork created a real buzz in the classroom; we’re looking forward to progressing the drawings even further!”
As the community at Witchford Village College continues to grow and evolve from its connection to Eastern Learning Alliance, students are offered excellent academic and extra-curricular opportunities and access to the arts and performing arts. Eastern Learning Alliance and its schools are proudly international and internationally minded, serving a diverse community with a broad, specialist and inclusive provision.
