“Painting of Gisho:” An Artist Spotlight with Toby F. ’25

Many seasoned artists have learned a lot about themselves and the world around them through their art practice. Some learn by studying other artist’s methods and views. Making your own art is another way to learn about the world. Toby F., a junior at Vistamar, demonstrates this method.

 Toby has been a fan of art for a lot of his life but has had problems with comparing himself to others, which has led to a lack of motivation. Toby’s intention with this piece was to practice using colors effectively, so he found a reference with a lot of color contrast. He ended up finding a photo reference online of a band playing in concert, which is one of Toby’s favorite subjects to paint or draw. He told us, “I really like painting images of concerts or people playing instruments. It’s got a lot of energy behind it, and it’s really fun to capture that.” 

One of Toby’s routine practices when using a photo reference of a person or group is to find out who that person or group is. The reference that he used for this painting is a photo of a Japanese band, Penicillin. 

Through this reference and painting, Toby was introduced to a new band whose music he listened to while painting this piece. Toby’s methods of researching his subject and truly embodying the subject while painting are fabulous ways of capturing the energy found in a reference that is often so hard to replicate.   

Photo Credit: Grey Nielson