Brighton High School｜Brighton, CO

I Want to Hold Your Hand

Using Prismacolors, I created layers and saturated colors to make a realistic image to complement the song's positive message while adding a more in-depth interpretation. This piece gained more relevance and meaning as the Black Lives Matter movement became the forefront of the media. This movement shows that inclusion needs to happen in every aspect of the world, even our art. I hope this work conveys a sense of unity and love between the people in the picture and the people who look at it.

Avery’s portfolio is a beautiful reflection of her dedication to honing her style and technique over the past four years. Her sketchbooks are filled with portrait studies, layering techniques, mixed media experimentation, and every type of mark-making you could imagine. She has an incredible ability to envision a scene and make it come to life through skillful layering, mark-making, and simplistic compositions. For this reason, I was thrilled when Avery decided to apply her talent to visual interpretations of specific songs by The Beatles. 

My students go through a continuous cycle of research, experimentation, reflection, critique, and revision throughout the creative process. This cycle allows us to dig deeper into each student’s concept, technique, and style. With Avery’s technique being so strong, I wanted to expose her to a wide range of current artists and see how it might influence and push her own work. We also dug deeper into her concepts, diversity, and intentional choices of mediums that best express the intended statement and mood.

Avery created a stunningly detailed interpretation of The Beatles song “I Want to Hold Your Hand," using Prismacolor pencils. At the time, Avery was not aware of just how impactful this piece would become in just a few months. The solid yet comforting embrace of an interracial couple’s hands adds another layer of meaning, perspective, conversation, and interpretation to this iconic song.