Freddy Heredia– Special to Southern News
Although majoring in painting, “super senior” Glenn Paskiewicz has passion for more than just the arts but a passion to master whatever challenge may come his way.
Being inspired at a young age by his grandmother, Paskiewicz does not recall a time where he was yelled at for drawing in class.
Whether it is in his dorm room, outside in the woods, or with friends, Paskiewicz’s has had a passion for the arts longer than he could remember.
Although Southern does not offer drawing as a major, it did not take long before Paskiewicz was able to find a new passion for painting and eventually deciding to pursue a major in painting.
“I actually came here to be an art education major, and I was going to teach whatever and sort of go off that,” he said, “but as soon as I got into the art programs more, the teaching wasn’t so much the importance to me. I liked the idea of teaching at a college level and to do that you just need to become a painter and with the encouragement from my painting teachers I decided to switch to painting.”
When asked about other artist who inspired him, it only took seconds before Paskiewicz mentioned that it is his fellow classmates that are a real inspiration to his work and his passion.
Always looking to one-up his previous works, friendly competition comes a long way in the art world for Paskiewicz.
“Looking around at my classmates, I always have to make sure that I keep up with the top and always try to do the best that I can,” he said.
Also inspired by many contemporary and observational artists like Jacob Collins and Alyssa Monks help Paskiewicz have a solid foundation in what he wants to be as an artist in the future.
With this being his last semester at SCSU, Paskiewicz already has a vision for teaching and creating a community art program to be able to teach anyone who has a passion or interest in the arts.
Matt Fitch, a senior studio art major, supports his friend and enjoys seeing the new creations Paskiewicz makes.
“I love the stuff that he does; it’s kind of dark and more with creatures and masked figures,” Fitch said. “I can’t really say how his style developed but I do see an improvement in the effort he puts into his work with the detail. We talk a lot and bounce back ideas between each other all the time, whether it’s my work or his work. We throw out ideas.”
Imagination and observational skills are aspects that Paskiewicz shows through his painting and different art works, according to Southern art professor Wiley Carr.
“Glenn is a great student and I think he is a teacher himself,” Carr said. “I know he’s in a situation where he does everything from camp counseling but also one of the student organizations that he’s involved in. He is willing to take information, reform it and re-share it and that by definition for a lot of people is the best part of teaching and the best part of him.”
With only a few months left before graduating from Southern, Paskiewicz looks ahead to his senior showcase.
Already having more than a dozen paintings completed, his motivation to better his artwork will always be strong.
