Amy Meng, Arts and Tech Editor
@amengcourant
Ever since he can remember, junior Ben Bognon has been captivated by the world of colored pencils and paints. While most students may spend their free time scrolling through social media, Ben finds solace in creating drawings with intricate details.
After taking different art classes each semester of high school, Ben is now a student in AP Drawing, where students spend the school year creating a portfolio of 15 pieces centered around a specific theme in the form of a sustained investigation. “Ben is a very creative person,” said art teacher Kimanne Core, who has been Ben’s art teacher for the past three years. “The ideas just flow out of him, and he’s able to cross over between relying on photography and references to create pieces that look very realistic but are much more stylized.”
On top of taking numerous art classes at school, Ben continues to seek outside opportunities to display and challenge his artistic skills, submitting his works to art shows and competitions. “He’s always enthusiastic about art shows,” said Ms. Core.
Ben’s work has been displayed in art shows at the Carriage Barn Arts Center and Syracuse University, among many others. His colored pencil drawing of harlequin ducks also won him third place in the 10th-12th grade division of the 2023 Connecticut Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest.
Ben’s artistic motivation comes from something close to home. “My grandma has always been a really big inspiration in my life, and she was an artist just like me,” Ben said. “The rest of my family isn’t very artistically inclined, but I thank my grandma for giving me these things.”
Ben is currently working on his AP Drawing portfolio, which will be submitted to the College Board in early May for review and grading. His portfolio theme revolves around traveling, which he interprets in a few different ways. This includes metaphoric travel, traveling through the past and exploring specific places he has traveled to, outside the social bubble of New Canaan. “Ever since I was old enough, I have been on trips around the world everywhere with my family,” Ben said. “In recent years, I have traveled somewhere with my dad every Thanksgiving, including China, Japan, South Africa and India. These trips allowed me to gain perspective on the outside world. Additionally, I want to explore the idea of traveling through my past as an artist as well as traveling through my mind to express other emotions and feelings about my travels.”
Using eye-catching graphics and bright colors, typically through colored pencils, Ben hopes to instill joy within the people who look at his art. “I want my audience to connect to the idea of exploring the world while traveling, especially if they have been to the same places I have or other places that have opened their eyes to what is outside of their hometown,” said Ben.
Pictured are three of Ben’s works for his AP portfolio. The piece to the left is a colored pencil drawing titled Imagination Takes Flight, containing multiple parrots and a much younger version of Ben. “This one focuses on the idea of traveling through my past to when I was a little kid and imagining how my life would be as an artist,” said Ben. The birds are also a symbol of freedom.
The colored pencil drawing to the right, Paris 2024, is composed of many elements from different destinations that Ben has traveled to. “This one shows many of the places I have been to and how I plan to continue my travels in the future, such as to the 2024 Paris Olympics. My grandparents are from France, so we are going to see them and the Olympics next summer,” Ben said.
The scenes hold special meanings for Ben, particularly the blue and yellow fish near the center of the drawing. “The fish is meant to symbolize another aspect of my life, my church’s youth group, called the YG Fish. In this youth group, we go on a trip every year in February to give back and help rebuild houses in less fortunate parts of America,” said Ben.
Finally, to the left is another drawing done with colored pencils, titled My Travel Log. “This was my first ever piece that I did for the Portfolio and it was centered around the theme of losing memories of the places I’ve been to,” said Ben. “It is a collage of the many places I have been to but each one is fading away, showing how I may not remember all my trips in the future, so I have to cherish them now while I can.”
Ben’s many years of drawing have also led to new techniques and approaches to his art. For emerging artists, Ben has a few recommendations based on his own experiences. “Always stick to the process,” he said. “You can add many layers to your drawing, and you don’t need to do it in one sitting. I always do a little part of my piece, take a break, then come back, and look at it with a pair of fresh eyes.”
