From project to project, senior Ella DiBonaventura is constantly expressing her artistic energy. Working with oil paint, however, is the medium she adheres to the most.

Dibonaventura’s love for painting has been apparent since her childhood and has grown exponentially from the early days of COVID. From there, she incorporated it into her life as one of her passions. 

“It’s a great way to express yourself, and it can be therapeutic whenever I’m stressed or angry,” DiBonaventura said. “It’s a great way to take a break and do something you enjoy.”

Working with oil paint is quite different from other types of paint, but it can allow for stronger attention to detail.

“Oil is definitely the best way to strive for realism because you can blend the colors nicer. You’re allowed to make mistakes because you can cover them up,” DiBonaventura said.

Although the process of painting with oil has a lengthy nature, DiBonaventura has learned a lot about the importance of having patience.

“I wish I could say how many hours, but always a couple months,” DiBonaventura said. “ It just depends on how much time I have to draw it out. To actually sketch it takes probably one to two hours at least, not counting prepping the canvas I’m using. I’ll paint for two hours and have a fingernail done.”

Creating an original piece from start to finish is super fulfilling for DiBonaventura, and she has gotten better at it by taking AP Art and Design with Ms. Jennifer Rodgers.

“I do use references a lot, but for AP Art, everything’s original,” DiBonaventura said.  For the first piece, I took my own photo for it, but for the second piece, I just drew and painted it without using anything. That’s definitely helped me grow because it’s something I would always avoid.”

Through teaching her in AP Art and Design, Rodgers has been able to see DiBonaventura’s skills expand every day in class.

“She isn’t afraid to try new things with oil paint and is painting on interesting surfaces and mixing materials in really unique ways,” Rodgers said.

Dibonaventura has a wide array of projects that hold special importance to her, but her collection of album cover paintings on vinyl records is a well-known and noteworthy aspect of her craftsmanship.

“The biggest jump of improvement in my art was my first final project, and I painted the album Man on the Moon by Kid Cudi. People call it the noodle man because it has all these squiggles. I painted it when I was 14, and I’m honestly so proud of it,” DiBonaventura said. 

With their shared love of painting, senior Luci DiBonaventura has always been supportive of her twin sister’s work. 

“I genuinely think she’s one of the best artists I know,” Luci said. “Do I get annoyed at her for not cleaning up the art room? Yeah, but it makes up for it because she makes really cool pieces.”