By SEAN DOHERTY
Student Reporter
Northwestern is filled with aspiring doctors, nurses, lawyers, teachers and entrepreneurs. Not many students dream of being graphic novelists after graduation, but Amanda Breeden is an exception.
Breeden received $75 and a purple ribbon for “Best in Show” at the Northwestern Art Society Art Show for her charcoal drawing “Self Portrait”.
The freshman biology major from Cherokee says she started drawing at young age with the encouragement of her parents. Around age ten she decided to really learn how to draw. “There was this guy at a church that I went to, and he taught me how to draw realistic people.”
By junior high, Breeden fixated on one particular character and the beginning of a dream ignited. “I just kept drawing this one character over and over and over again, and I was like ‘Ok, so what am I doing with this character?” Breeden already has a couple of novels in the making focusing on post-apocalyptic future.
Being an Art minor, Breeden was required to submit artwork to the show. Breeden submitted four pieces, all which placed in their respective categories. Breeden’s cleverly named art, aims to brighten up the somber overtones of the art world. Her oil paintings “I Smell the Smelly Smell” placed first and “Does This Vase Make My Flowers Look Small?” placed third in the other subject areas category. Her watercolor painting “Mind Over Noodle” tied for third in the watercolor category.
“Self Portrait” started out as a homework assignment with a little twist. The assignment was a self-por
trait, but face was to be distorted. Breeden used an eraser to reveal the two distorted faces and noses in the charcoal shading. She added an ear last minute to complete the work, along more shading at the urging of her professor Kyle Larson. When asked if the piece held any particular meaning, Breeden replied with a typical artist’s answer: it’s up to interpretation. “Whenever I do art, it’s just a way to express feelings, and a way to put everything that’s in my head onto paper.”
Breeden’s award winning artwork plus over 100 others will be on display in The Runnymede, Friday, April 6, from 6-8 p.m., for the First Friday Artwalk event. This event is free and open to the public.