Gallery • 4 Photos

"(This piece) was my very first knife painting" Giasolli said. "It was a challenge for me because my artistic style involves great detail and realism, but knife painting has a certain abstract and flowy feel to it so it definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone. The rose burning is usually symbolic of lost love which was something that was on my mind while painting it."

Lifetime works point to ‘forever’ calling

Q: What art do you do?

A: “I like to paint animals and nature-oriented things because I am Christian. I’ve always been really interested in God’s creatures and … the anatomy and beauty of life … and that ties into my AP Portfolio this year with (the) essential question of where do I find beauty. … Some people might think that beauty is on the outside, but it is also on the inside. One of my paintings that I’m going to do is like a child with special needs whose going to be on a therapeutic horse.”

Q: Why are you an artist?

A: “I paint to show beauty. I not only paint because I find it beautiful, and it helps me understand God’s creation, but I also want to be a vet. The anatomy and form and function of animals and how they live is really interesting to me.”

Q: What is your favorite kind of art?

A: “I try to be on the hyper-realistic side, but I also aspire to be on the impressionistic side. Impressionism is taking something in front of you and using abstract shape and colors to show what you are seeing vs. what is actually there. For me it’s hard because I tend to be really realistic, but I think its really beautiful to show what you’re really seeing versus what’s actually there.”

Q: What is a favorite work of yours?

A: “The one of my dog Charlie. That was my very first oil painting. I previously had been a devout acrylic painter, but then I heard a lot about oil. I knew that … almost every artist who is historical used oil, so I thought I would try it out and I actually am a total oil convert now … the struggle is that it takes a long time to dry, but (that) benefits you in a way because you can continue to work on parts of the painting that are still wet. Over weeks, months, the painting will still be wet. I also am really attached to that painting because this is my childhood dog. In that painting, I tried to capture his eyes. … Animals have really expressive eyes … that was the main source of that painting.”

Q: How long have you been an artist?

A: “Forever. (But) I wouldn’t have called myself an artist back then. … When I was a little kid I grew up in Hawaii. I was like 6 or 7, and I entered this art competition. … I drew this like little turtle. It was a terrible drawing. It was like this little turtle – red, white and blue for the Fourth of July. I won, and T-shirts (with the work) were made. It was in the newspaper. I got to take a picture with the mayor. But, like, you know it was (just) a cute little turtle.”

Q: Are artists prevalent in your family?

A: “Not really. My mom enjoyed doing art before she had kids … but she was never really into it as much as I am. … Her side of the family they kind of are artistic, but not anything really prevalent.”

Q: Any words of advice for student artists like yourself?

A: “Never give up … because everybody hits that wall at one point during any piece of art. I have always hit a wall and said “I don’t like this piece anymore.” … But, you just have to stand back, give it a little time. … Don’t isolate yourself as an artist. You need other people’s opinions. … Someone else’s eyes can see something you can’t see in (a piece). You’re never done because you can always improve a piece at any time. I’ll spend more than a year on a piece if I want to. I mean the one of my dog I started in the summer last year. I finished in December of the school year.”

Q: What is your future as an artist?

A: “I don’t plan to make it a career, but all power to those who do. I really, really enjoy painting and literally every form of art there is, but I don’t want to make that into something that I have to make money off. I want to keep it as a hobby – something that helps me decompress.”

Artist of the Week is an opportunity for Prosper High School student artists, performers and creative people to share their story on Eagle Nation Online. If you are interested in participating in Artist of the Week, please fill out THIS FORM. Or, contact Kate L. Keeler at keelekat000@k12.prosper-isd.net.

This article has been updated for clarification.