PUPILS from S3 at Carrick Academy in Maybole have proudly presented an exhibition of artwork in Ayr's Clydesdale Bank as part of a community art project.

The S3 Broad General Education Art and Design course provides pupils with a wide range of skills and learning experiences in order to prepare them for the senior phase.

They have been working on an experimental project over the last few months aimed at challenging pupils to explore new art forms and develop their skills in media handling.

Work they have produced shows their development into talented young adults — who have earned the right to call themselves artists.

This sequence of work was led by art teacher Susan Love and was done in collaboration with the University of the West of Scotland Art Education department. 

While the two disciplines of portraiture and still life are typically studied separately, the pupils decided to combine the two for the very first time to create artwork which is fresh, modern and innovative.

In addition, they looked at the work of contemporary artist Michael Craig Martin who works in a similar way using ordinary household objects which are painted using very flat, bold colours. 

Then it was on to a challenge which involved work on a much larger scale using techniques and materials that were new to them.

Inspired by the work of Julian Schnabel, known as the ‘Wild Child’ of American Pop Art, pupils enjoyed creating a collaged, textured surface on top of their wooden canvases using recyclable materials such as tin can lids, broken crockery, paper plates, bubble wrap and cardboard.

Following this, they projected their own line drawing of themselves onto the canvas and painted directly on top.

After being taught some basic techniques, they were let loose and given the freedom to explore media handling in an experimental way and work as a professional artist would — although a challenge for many it was one that they embraced fully. 
For some of these pupils, they may move on through school and life never picking up another paintbrush again. However, the skills they have learned from this experience are transferable to many other situations. 

Seeing their work on public display has given the pupils confidence and a sense of pride, while any work not on show in the bank was exhibited within the school. 

Having successfully contributed in positively promoting their school within the local community, the exhibition of work is something that everyone involved can be very proud of.