David Conley has been drawing nearly his entire life. “My mom has baby pictures of me with a pen and a sketchbook,” he said. His innate talent has blossomed over the years through a mixture of hard work and expert guidance.
Now a senior at Lincoln High School, his art is not only a passion and method for self-expression, it has also become a coping strategy.
Just after recuperating from two serious injuries that sidelined his high school football career, David found himself in the midst of the pandemic, quarantined at home. “We’d just sit there and watch the clock go by,” he said. “There are a lot of thoughts racing in your head and there’s not much to do but take those thoughts and put them on a sheet of paper. I used that time to draw.”
David chose to see the situation as an opportunity to continue perfecting his craft and experiment with different media. Though graphite pencil and charcoal are his go-to materials, he has pushed himself to try new media including alcohol ink markers which can be used to achieve a painterly effect through layering and blending techniques.
His first attempt with the markers, a self-portrait, has already received critical acclaim.
His piece was selected as the first-place award winner for high school in COCA’s annual Winter Festival Youth Art Exhibit. The drawing was submitted by David’s art teacher Marilyn Proctor-Givens who is proud of his tenacity. “He works all the time on his art. He beats himself up a little bit because he wants to grow as an artist, but you need that. He doesn’t give up.”
Others have also taken note of David’s talents and are mentoring him in a more permanent art form. As an 18-year-old, he’s currently working as an intern with Empire Tatooz and he’s investing the same commitment to hone his skills. “To have a steady hand, I do these exercises where you take a pen and drag a straight line across paper without a ruler. You keep going until your lines get straighter and straighter.”
David is planning to study art in college and is eager to support himself by tattooing while he’s in school. “I want to have a sustained income creating art. After college, I’d like to study entrepreneurship, start my own business, create a brand for my artwork, and make a name for myself. I know art will carry me in the long run.”
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