AP Art students, seniors Kelda Rial and Alana Seifert, have been taking Art the entirety of their high school careers and now have a unique opportunity to showcase their work this Friday at an exhibit dedicated to their pieces.

Rial and Seifert have devoted hours of their time preparing for the show, populating the art room frequently in the past few months.

“One of my really detailed acrylic paintings, the person coming out of the water, that took me a month and a half to finish,” Rial said. “I probably spent at least 20, 25 hours on it.”

Seifert said said several factors, including the type of art, can dictate the amount of time it takes to finish.

“The time it takes to finish a piece of artwork varies widely based on the size, media, and complexity of the picture I want to create,” Seifert said. “Around five hours usually will produce a presentable charcoal piece, while an acrylic painting could take more than double that.”

Both Seifert and Rial draw their inspiration from various places, adding individual expression to each piece.

“I look at Pinterest a lot and find different ideas that I can draw aspects from,” Rial said. “… I love painting portraits, so pictures of people in different light on social media and photographs in general [serve as inspiration]. I like studying how the light plays on their face and then I’ll try to paint that.”

Each piece on display at Friday’s exhibit is part of a group that has an overarching theme tying all the work together.  

“I’m going to be showcasing five, possibly six different pieces I’ve been working on a little bit last year and this year,” Rial said. “The central theme of the pieces is about the human body and appreciating the human body as an art form.”

Seifert incorporates different themes such as mystery and perception in her work.

“I will be presenting a range of charcoal pieces that play with the idea of an enigma,” Seifert said.

Seifert identifies art as a class that’s been valuable for her throughout high school.

“For me, Art serves as [an] escape from the intellectual rigor of core classes,” she said.

Rial added that art has always been a part of her life and taking the class in high school has helped the progression of her skills.

“I’ve always loved art,” Rial said. “I started it when I was really young and I was kind of good at it, so I started out as a freshman in Art 1. [I] just really enjoyed the class and the way that Ms. Guthrie taught. I thought I excelled really well under her instruction.”

The showcase will be held in the Columbia Bank Building on Friday, Nov. 2 from 5:30-7 p.m.