It’s a dramatic mural; a painting of four roommates staring out at the viewer, their faces contrasted by a violent dark blue sky behind them. In the background are sulking buildings, and the threat of thunder looms.
According to its creator, it is well done, and the concept took almost an entire semester to finalize. For him, drawing or painting a piece is the easy part and the hard part is laying it out.
The author, Andrew Zimmerman, a sophomore in biological sciences, put the painting on a beer pong table — a table the size of a ping pong table — used in the drinking game. The subjects in the painting are Zimmerman and his three roommates. Zimmerman said art is an important component of his life.
On the walls of the apartment are paintings the size of movie posters, here and there. Like the beer-pong mural, most of them use contrast.
In one, a tanned hero with wind-swept black hair, dressed in a blue suit with a green trench coat, stands against a brilliant sunset. The landscape behind the figure lights up in shades ranging from white-hot yellow to a smoldering red.
“Drawing is a way to center myself,” Zimmerman said. “Some people workout. I draw.”
Another drawing is of a pool table with four balls on it: a cue-ball, an 11 ball, a two ball and a six; the numbers of Zimmerman’s birthday. The details are precise, and the soft edges that create a dreamlike sensation. A rising sun in the background shines behind the table.
“It’s nice because when you look at paintings you only see the finished [product],” David Ballard, a sophomore in textile and apparel management and Zimmerman’s roommate, said about Zimmerman’s art. “It’s cool to see the changes [as it is being painted].”
According to Zimmerman, many of his ideas are random thoughts that become drawings and paintings. He also said that a great way for an artist to improve is by seeing styles or layouts that are unfamiliar to him or her, such as in archives and galleries. A recent trip to New York allowed him to see a lot of world-class art, according to Zimmerman.
Some of Zimmerman’s pieces, like the beer-pong mural, are made to look real.
He based one painting on a photograph of himself, altered to add details and nuance. In the picture, even the stubble can be seen in detail, and the shading gives it a three-dimensional quality, which is absent from the original photograph.
Zimmerman is not looking to draw or paint professionally. According to him, he does not want to compromise his art for money.
“I don’t want it to be a chore,” he said. “I have to be in the mood.”
According to him, all artists want to make art for themselves, and doing it for someone else takes away the value.
Zimmerman still wants exposure, and he said he is proud of his work. The Internet has numerous resources for artists, or anyone interested in art, according to Zimmerman. Deviant Art is an online network where Zimmerman posts some of his work. According to the site, it is the “largest art community in the world.”
“It’s a great way to share your art with other artists,” Zimmerman said of the site.
Zimmerman said he has loved to draw since he was in elementary school, but became seriously interested in art in the seventh grade when he took his first art class.
He plans to continue to do art as long as he can.