AP art students Amanda Lemelin, Marissa Chan, and Ruthie Hoover have been constructing projects over the past three months. According to Hoover, AP art students must complete 24 art projects by May.

Lemelin had completed three projects, including a sketch of her little sister Sara, a piece she calls Man on the Moon, and a drawing of an umbrella. Lemelin’s ideas for her art are scattered. “My pictures have changes everyday. I might get a better idea on the 3rd day and completely switch it up,” she explained.

According to Lemelin, she competes with her brother because he won an art award in eighth grade. She was motivated to be better than him at art.

Chan completed a painting she calls Fish n’ Boots. It depicts an underwater cowboy boot with fish swarming. “My ideas just come to mind basically. I just find pictures of it or references of what I want to draw.  I find what looks good then go on from there,” said Chan.

Hoover has two completed pieces. One of them is Happily Ever After, a drawing of a bride and groom kissing. Another is a painting called Turtle and Coral.  “I take things that I like and put them together. It’s either stuff I’m interested in or things that I think are pretty. I really like the way wedding dresses look and I really like how cherry blossoms look so I put them together,” said Hoover.

Kim Wong, the substitute art teacher while regular art teacher Jill Langston is on leave, helps the AP art and IP art students by providing comments. Wong explained, “I look at the project and communicate to them what needs to be improved. We talk about composition, we talk about color, and we talk about shapes.” According to Wong, he goes to each student daily to critique their work. “In art, we think visually. I try to make students reason with their eyes,” he added.

Wong has taught art for at total of 47 years, including at the College of the Arts in Oakland and night classes in Hayward.

AP art students complete about one project a week.