Dedicated, confident, and hardworking, all describe junior Trenton Frazer as an artist. As one of the top artists at Concord, he inspires his peers to learn to be better at their craft.
Unsure of when he started drawing, Frazer remembers drawing with his family and being inspired by his father and his artistic ability. Since then he has pushed his artistic abilities, taking Mr.Couling’s art class since the 8th grade. When beginning a new project, he finds a sketch with challenging aspects and is excited to start. Currently, he is working on a pen and ink on Saint Michaelthe Archangel. It is also one of the hardest pieces that he has worked on this year due to the intense detail. Frazer hopes students will understand that art takes “time and dedication. What you put into stuff, you will get just as much out of it.”
As an artist, he has run into some problems, but he shares some advice that has helped him get out of a slump: “It takes time. You can’t just go into it and be instantly good at it. When I first started, I was not great at it, but over time you get better.” He adds what motivates him to do so, “ I love seeing work come together. Like my whole life, we redid stuff in my house and to see it come to life is my favorite.” Frazer’s love of constructing something new is apparent whether it’s a piece of art or helping with improvement projects with his family.
Sharing art class with him, junior Emma Burbo has enjoyed his pieces and the tips and tricks that he shares to help improve her art. She hopes to take away from his art and apply it to her pieces to, “Really focus on all of the intricate pieces of details that bring the piece together.”
She appreciates his unique style explaining that, “It is very cool, and it is not something that you see…everyone do. Most people would do flowers or animals, but you usually never see a bunch of characters, and that is what he does. His detail in every single [piece of] artwork is intricate.”
Friend, junior Tyler Rundle also has noticed Frazer’s artistic ability. Even though they don’t have the same art hour, he explains what he likes about his art: “ You can tell he puts a lot of time into the pieces. He is a pretty skillful artist.”
Out of all the mediums, Frazer enjoys pen & ink but dislikes painting. He explains, “I like the black and white parts with the grays in between it… Painting takes too long.” Sooner or later, he plans to try learning more techniques with watercolor, so he can expand his artistic ability. Last year, he created his favorite piece, a pen & ink lizard that won an Ella Sharp Museum award at the art show. In Mr. Couling’s opinion, the best piece that Frazer has produced is, “his baby Yoda…because there is so much detail. He also spent about a year finishing the piece.”
Couling has taught countless artists but believes that one thing that sets Frazer apart from his peers: “ He is confident. He knows he is good. He is not arrogant about it, but confident, there is a difference. Since he is confident, he is able to take risks and do a nice job.”
