Jimi Hendrix pensively rests his green chin on long, green fingers.
In Alexis Morgan’s world he is green – and she’s the artist, so she calls the shots.
Morgan’s oil pastel portrait of Hendrix is on permanent display at West Sound Academy in Suquamish, where islander Morgan attends high school.
More of the young artist’s works may be seen in an exhibit of prizewinning student art opening Feb. 2 for Arts Walk.
The artists garnered awards at the 2nd Annual Bainbridge Island Student Art Contest, held during last November. But Morgan’s preoccupation predates the contest by years.
“I’ve always enjoyed creating art in some form or another,” Morgan said. “I took art classes through the parks department so I got kind of a head start – I learned about perspective and the color wheel.”
Today, Morgan works predominantly in oil pastel, to make striking portraits, both of cultural icons and people she doesn’t know.
“I like people’s faces,” she said. “There’s so much expression. People’s faces communicate emotion better than anything else.”
Morgan works on several pieces at once, moving from one to the other. Sometimes she begins a piece with a plan in mind, but other times artworks develop a life of their own.
That’s how the piece that won Morgan first-place in the two-dimensional high school art category of the student art contest evolved. The triptych of red oil pastel faces, stacked in a column, began as a single image.
“Originally it was just a guy lighting a cigarette,” Morgan said. “I liked him alone, but I had three ‘reds’ in my oil pastel box, so I made three. When I had them all done, I was trying to figure out how to arrange them.”
Morgan ultimately selected an unusual vertical placement, and her science teacher, Mark Darrach, promptly purchased the lot.
Morgan says she has been encouraged by both her parents, Carl and Doreen Morgan, whose training is in the sciences.
The young artist doesn’t see any great divide between the two pursuits.
“I don’t think that artistic creation and logical thought are mutually exclusive,” Morgan said, “because I’m a pretty scientific person, too. I look at things analytically.”
Morgan’s analysis of her own future includes a year off after high school. She then plans to merge academics with art training in a program that combines art classes at Boston Museum of Fine Arts with academics at Tufts University – close to Boston, but not to Bainbridge.
“You meet a lot of people in a lot of different areas,” Morgan said. “I want to get away from this part of the country – but I’ve got a few years to think about it.”
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A reception for winners of the second annual Bainbridge Island Student Art Contest will be held 1-4 p.m. Feb. 2 at the Playhouse.
The two-month exhibit in the Playhouse lobby gallery features the winning pieces from last fall’s Arts Walk student art contest. Visit www.artshum.org/awalk.php for a complete list of winners.
Groundhog Day
“Purrfectly Dogmatic,” the first 2003 quarterly Arts Walk Feb. 2 features art with an animal theme. Maps available at the Arts Walk booth in Winslow Mall guide visitors to the more than 35 artists and special events:
l Pet photo contest entrants displayed at Paper products.
l “Picture Bainbridge” booksigning at Winslow Mall with author Jack Swanson
l Guy Sidora is “Sparky the Dog” and other characters 1-2 p.m. Winslow Mall
l Animal treasure hunt and coloring event 1-4 p.m. at BI public library
l PAWS fun: Make a pet tag 1:30-3:30 p.m. and take mini-classes in pet care 2-2:15 p.m. and 2:30-2:45 p.m. at Winslow Mall.
Events are 12-5 p.m. unless otherwise noted.
