Chatter fills the air as people walk around the gallery, crowding around art pieces hung delicately on the walls. On one of these walls, a girl lays against a golden frame, cradling it. Flowers stream from the edges of the frame.
Senior Jacob Montoya’s artwork, “A Better Bed Awaits,” was featured in the Dallas Young Artist Exhibition on Jan. 22. His piece was inspired by his love for nature.
“For college, I’m planning to go to Oregon,” Montoya said. “Oregon is known for its [natural] environment. I wanted to show how nature is my sanctuary.”
The artwork is a mixed media piece, created using oil paint, chicken wire, clay and other materials. Using multiple mediums made the process more challenging. Montoya planned his process by watching an artist on TikTok who incorporates painting and sculpting.
“This was my first time [doing a mixed media piece like this],” Montoya said. “When I was stapling the chicken wire, I realized I completely stapled it in the wrong direction, [and I couldn’t take it out] because I used a nail gun.”
Montoya challenges himself to experiment with different mediums, and combining different ones that aren’t normally put together.
“Jacob is always willing to explore new avenues of material he hasn’t used before in a different fashion,” art teacher Suzanne Blair said. “He’s not afraid to do something that’s different than what other people are doing.”
However, Montoya hasn’t always jumped into using new mediums. In middle school, he mainly drew small sketches using graphite and charcoal.
“I was actually really scared to paint,” Montoya said. “Camila Salinas is genuinely the only reason I started painting; she inspired me to do my first painting.”
Camila Salinas is an alumna of Lebanon Trail High School. She is currently attending the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), and her videos gain lots of traction on social media.
“[When] I saw [Camila’s] art I was like, ‘I want my art to look like that,’” Montoya said. “I got her autograph and everything, and I hope to keep in touch with her. [I hope] I’ll be able to make that big of an impact.”
While inspiration from other artists is a huge part of an artist’s journey, a support system is just as important. For Montoya, one of his biggest supporters is his mom. When Montoya was about ten years old, his mom would have him present his art at pop-up stands at conventions, where he made many connections with artists.
“This guy invited me to his house because he owns an art gallery,” Montoya said. “He told my mom to never stop supporting me because [art] is such a hard field, and I would need someone to rely on. [After that,] my mom never stopped.”
Senior Deniz Ari is a close friend and fellow artist. Montoya and she have known each other since eighth grade, where they met in art class.
“We talk about his growth a lot,” Ari said. “It’s insane how different his artwork from eighth grade was compared to now. Back then, he would draw from a reference photo [using] graphite, but now, he paints and his references and composition are more creative.”
Before Montoya begins his paintings, he thinks of a friend who would fit the energy of the piece and uses them as a reference. For one of his pieces, he used Ari as a reference.
“My favorite piece of his is ‘Where We Find Light,’” Ari said. “It’s [a piece] of me and my friend Shanzay, and I love how the background is abstract [while] me and [my friend are painted realistically.]”
Montoya plans to major in studio art at the Pacific Northwest College of Art. But, he has not always known he wanted to go into an art-related career. Ari and many other friends encouraged him to pursue art in the future.
“It’s kind of inevitable to support someone [when] you see how talented they are and how much they stand out from others in that aspect,” Ari said.
A common stereotype about the arts is that it is challenging to make a living out of it. However, Montoya sees a future in the financial aspect of being an artist.
“On TikTok, I saw this girl was making more than $100,000 a year just from her art and platform,” Montoya said. “I was like, ‘if she can do it, why can’t I?’”
With Montoya’s unmistakable love for art, his supporters find his decision to pursue art to be natural.
“I don’t even have memories of when I got into art; that’s how young I was,” Montoya said. “I was always drawing. There was never a moment I wasn’t into it.”
