Art is available to everyone. There isn’t one person on the planet that is incapable of either creating art or enjoying the art of other’s. This is because it holds no boundaries. Art is blind to demographics, creating a beautiful network of
passion, and energy. This network stretches around the planet and enables mankind to share ideas and concepts in a manner that allows for infinite possibilities. The world is full of superficial rules, and regulations, that don’t allow anyone to fully express themselves in day to day life.

However, art is the exception to this. Its whole purpose is to let all ideas out, unfiltered, for the enjoyment of anyone. Art doesn’t follow the rules.

This is a concept Brennan Holmes ’18 is very familiar with. Seattle-based artist Brennan Holmes has unfurled his ability to illustrate his ideas through AP Studio Art Class. Using charcoal, graphite, and white charcoal, Holmes creates images in his two concentrations: Realism, and Surrealism. He explained, “In surrealism, I basically take
two different ideas, and combine them into one thing.”

For reference, one of the most well renowned surrealistic paintings is ‘The Persistence of Memory’ by Salvador Dalí.
Holmes mentioned, “I have been making sketches my whole life,” but he has started to improve and take art more seriously in high school.

In a world of rules Brennan Holmes appreciates that art gives him an outlet to express his creative side. On the surface Brennan Holmes appears to be simply another Prep student, trying to excel in academics and athletics. However, his art allows us a deeper look into his life and personality.

One of his greatest works is a realistic portrait of a man on a ski lift, with trees reflected in the goggles. This showcases his true technical experience when it comes to drawing. Illustrating a surrealistic concept, one of Brennan’s drawings features a broken eggshell, with a turtle in between, and a castle growing on top of it.

This picture is exemplary of Brennan Holmes’s passion for combing ideas that are somewhat unrelated. While Holmes’ artistic future is uncertain, Brennan has learned a new universal language of art that will help
him ‘speak’ to anyone around the world.