Marley - "Why I studied Art"
Former student, Marley, on why he chose to study GCSE Art at Harris Dulwich Boys, and where it took him.
"I didn't particularly have a big interest in Art growing up. I enjoyed it and did all the things we do as kids, but it certainly wasn't a big passion from an early age.
"At 13, just before choosing art at GSCE, I attempted my first self portrait in pencil, it was pretty decent, I mean it looked like me! This became the spark that set me off and I decided to dedicate a bit more time to Art to see how things would progress.
"At GCSE what's great is that you get to try out so many different techniques and there's lots of areas to explore. In the first year of GCSE I drew a second self portrait for part of an assignment that fell under 'depression'. It was based off a black and white photo of water falling down my face and I spent a fair bit of time planning and working on it, as you need to be patient. At this point I wasn't using a projector to roughly map out, but that is something I now utilise as it gives me a quick and solid starting point. I was really pleased with how the portrait turned out and this was the first time I could really see a big progression in my work, so with the support of the school, we entered it for the SAF London Art award.
"I was shortlisted and had the piece exhibited in an amazing space at the Philips Auction house in London, where we got to attend an evening with our family and teacher to view all the work and meet the judges, it was a great experience. The big learning curve for me at this point, was just how many other amazing young artists are out there, using all sorts of different mediums and it also gave me a taste of the 'art world' and opportunities that are open to artists.
"So this period through my GCSE really helped open up my interest in Art and gave me the tools and techniques to support my work, but most importantly I was really enjoying the time I spent on it, I could just put my headphones on, chill and lose myself in the process.
"After completing GCSE, I firstly applied for the Brit school. My thinking was I could spend my whole week doing Art! I sent in a selection of work, had an interview and got offered a place on their Art and Design extended diploma course (equivalent to 3 A Levels). But although I love Art, I decided I didn't want to drop my academic subjects as I wanted to stretch myself and keep options open. In terms of the other subject choices, I really enjoyed Physics, but discovered you need to do Maths as they both support each other. So although I was a little sceptical about Maths, that's what I chose and these three subjects also lend themselves perfectly to studying something like Architecture, which is another potential future option I could consider. Although it's early days at sixth form, I am enjoying all the subjects and being at Prendegast, which is a local school.
"I also attend an Art class out of school and this has been a good experience to mix with other artists (at all levels from total beginners to experienced) and this enables me to continue extending my knowledge of different techniques, especially oil and charcoal. It's also a very non judgemental environment and the support (and materials) are there from start to end, even if you feel out of comfort zone.
"Future wise, It's likely I will be applying for a degree in Fine Art or Art and Design, probably with a Foundation year first, to help build out my portfolio. London has some amazing courses and I intend to aim high to see what I can achieve. Portraits feels like my genre currently, but I want to continue to explore other areas out of my comfort zone and a degree will help me to keep stretching myself."
Marley