By Erin Hu
Caesar Seminerio is a lifer at Collingwood School and is currently in grade 9. He has been interested in art his whole life, but only recently has he dived deep into his art again. The summer before starting grade 8 at Morven, Caesar went on a trip to Italy to visit family. While on vacation, he saw many street artists and vendors and got inspired. So he went to a store in Italy and immediately bought a sketchbook and erasable pens and started drawing all summer. It was a new enjoyment that he discovered and from that day on, he continues to draw in his sketchbook. His brother also inspires him because of all the cartoon-like drawings he draws during his art therapy.
Art is a way to show emotions for Caesar and is an outlet to get his headaches and eye twitches onto paper. When feelings such as headaches rise, Caesar immediately goes to his sketchbook to represent it with squiggles and lines on a distorted face. As a result, the headache is a little more manageable. Caesar believes that the art he creates is his expression of what is happening with his body. For example, his twitching eye feels like a bunch of squiggly eyes. The images are usually visuals of how he feels drawn on other people’s faces
An artist that inspires Caesar is Mags Munroe. Munroe paints many watercolour sketches of alien-looking people in very light and cheery colours. To Caesar, this contrast between colours and objects is “simple and detailed, very cool looking”.
He says, “you can have inspiration but not be able to traditionally draw, but it is cool to remember that inspiration”
Caesar Seminerio is a lifer at Collingwood School and is currently in grade 9. He has been interested in art his whole life, but only recently has he dived deep into his art again. The summer before starting grade 8 at Morven, Caesar went on a trip to Italy to visit family. While on vacation, he saw many street artists and vendors and got inspired. So he went to a store in Italy and immediately bought a sketchbook and erasable pens and started drawing all summer. It was a new enjoyment that he discovered and from that day on, he continues to draw in his sketchbook. His brother also inspires him because of all the cartoon-like drawings he draws during his art therapy.
Art is a way to show emotions for Caesar and is an outlet to get his headaches and eye twitches onto paper. When feelings such as headaches rise, Caesar immediately goes to his sketchbook to represent it with squiggles and lines on a distorted face. As a result, the headache is a little more manageable. Caesar believes that the art he creates is his expression of what is happening with his body. For example, his twitching eye feels like a bunch of squiggly eyes. The images are usually visuals of how he feels drawn on other people’s faces
An artist that inspires Caesar is Mags Munroe. Munroe paints many watercolour sketches of alien-looking people in very light and cheery colours. To Caesar, this contrast between colours and objects is “simple and detailed, very cool looking”.
He says, “you can have inspiration but not be able to traditionally draw, but it is cool to remember that inspiration”
“Kim Kardashian Mushroom Head”
This piece was drawn during a weekend when Caesar went out with a muralist to downtown Chinatown. There were many murals to look at but one particularly stood out; a mural with mushrooms holding up platforms and an ear. He thought that it was so cool and inspirational that he started drawing the idea over and over again. Finally, after sketching the same image 25 times, he drew it from memory with watercolour. The final piece came out very different than the original because of the process behind it. This image reminds him of a twitchy eye feeling that just needs to be expressed onto a piece of paper.
The idea behind the visual was inspired by our warped vision of beauty. Society imagines big and kardashian-like lips to be the ultimate beauty. As a result, he wanted to make something ugly out of this ideal with warped features.
Currently, Caesar does many sketchbook creations with mixed media such as watercolours and ink. You can always find Caesar with his watercolour palette because whenever inspiration strikes he grabs whatever is near to represent it. There is no backstory behind the palette and materials because it is what is created that is special. The creative process and end piece is more important than his tools.
He says, “just because you can’t draw doesn’t mean you can’t show your idea”
The idea behind the visual was inspired by our warped vision of beauty. Society imagines big and kardashian-like lips to be the ultimate beauty. As a result, he wanted to make something ugly out of this ideal with warped features.
Currently, Caesar does many sketchbook creations with mixed media such as watercolours and ink. You can always find Caesar with his watercolour palette because whenever inspiration strikes he grabs whatever is near to represent it. There is no backstory behind the palette and materials because it is what is created that is special. The creative process and end piece is more important than his tools.
He says, “just because you can’t draw doesn’t mean you can’t show your idea”
“Flare”
This piece was created with photography skills and was an assignment from school. One day, Caesar was using his flashlight on his phone and found it cool how the light covered his surroundings. The process behind this piece was very thought out. Based on the main themes this year of “Human Nature”, “Relationship” and “Identity,” Caesero represented how people hide behind their phones to cover their identity. The light from the phone camera was an oxymoron in this piece, as the light is covering the darkness the person may be experiencing. People go to school every day just pretending that everything is okay and be looking at the bright, but they may just be covering the truth. Caesar wants people who look at this piece to realize that it is human nature to try to cover our feelings, and this is okay
Caesar says, “when there is a name on art, like a project, it seems like it is done for other people”.
Art is rather done for one’s enjoyment and not anyone else, according to Caesar. This means he spends a lot of time doing his own projects at home to express himself. This independence is inspirational because Caesar is so dedicated to his craft, he is constantly learning, experimenting and perfecting his work. This young artist understands art in a very wise way. “I don’t want to be clichéd," says Caesar
He believes that art has to have a meaning and puts a lot of thought into his work. However, at school in art class, he is super open with what he has to create and goes with whatever is assigned.
His favourite projects are "those long structured stories."
Caesar says, “when there is a name on art, like a project, it seems like it is done for other people”.
Art is rather done for one’s enjoyment and not anyone else, according to Caesar. This means he spends a lot of time doing his own projects at home to express himself. This independence is inspirational because Caesar is so dedicated to his craft, he is constantly learning, experimenting and perfecting his work. This young artist understands art in a very wise way. “I don’t want to be clichéd," says Caesar
He believes that art has to have a meaning and puts a lot of thought into his work. However, at school in art class, he is super open with what he has to create and goes with whatever is assigned.
His favourite projects are "those long structured stories."
“Our Organ”
The composition of this piece contains the first and last scenes of the script from the movie “Mother”. This is Caesar’s favourite movie because it is a metaphor for our world and beliefs.
The character "Mother" is a metaphor for mother nature and the character "Him" is a metaphor for god. Mother and Him live in a house that represents the earth. The beginning of the script shows how Mother is born. In the end, Mother burns the house and Him squishes her heart which contains the seed for life. This is the end of her lifecycle. However, the cycle then continues with a new woman emerging.
As an inspiration, Caesar wanted to paint a heart with leaks and a worn-out look to represent how it has been used and abused. This heart represents our hearth and that is why there are clouds around it that represent purity and life. The clouds are wisps of brightness to represent that there is still hope and something.
The character "Mother" is a metaphor for mother nature and the character "Him" is a metaphor for god. Mother and Him live in a house that represents the earth. The beginning of the script shows how Mother is born. In the end, Mother burns the house and Him squishes her heart which contains the seed for life. This is the end of her lifecycle. However, the cycle then continues with a new woman emerging.
As an inspiration, Caesar wanted to paint a heart with leaks and a worn-out look to represent how it has been used and abused. This heart represents our hearth and that is why there are clouds around it that represent purity and life. The clouds are wisps of brightness to represent that there is still hope and something.