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Teen's portraits catch the eye
By LOGAN NEILL © St. Petersburg Times, published November 30, 2000 If you study any of Marisa Grande's portraits that hang in the administration building at Hernando High School, you will notice that the artist has a wonderful eye for detail. Her creative blend of pastel hues draws the eye past the image and into the character of her subject, something visual artists like to refer to as depth. But more than that, the portraits of young children show Marisa's deep love for creating works for people to enjoy. "I've always loved to paint and draw," says the cheerful 17-year-old. "I like the creative process because it's always challenging to create something that you want other people to like as well." Not surprising is the fact that other people also admire Marisa's artistic abilities. At last year's Masaryktown Art Show, she received Best of Show honors for a pastel portrait she painted of her boyfriend as a toddler. The piece also captured first prize at both the Weeki Wachee Art Show and the Hernando County Fair. "Marisa is very gifted," said Roxanne Campbell, an art teacher at Hernando High who has taught Marisa since the teen was in ninth grade. "Her artwork is far from the typical quality you find from high school students. She's definitely is destined for great success." The Brooksville teen is no stranger to top achievement. Enrolled in a college prep honors curriculum at Hernando High, she currently holds a 3.9 grade point average, is active on campus in several academic and service clubs, and serves on Hernando County's Fine Arts Council. Her sports-related activities include participation in varsity soccer, tennis and track teams. Outside of school, Marisa stays busy with a variety of community service tasks. Any extra moments are devoted to indulging her other passion: music. "My mom brought a violin home when I was in fifth grade, and I fell in love with it," Marisa said. "It was hard at first, but the more I played, the more fun I had playing." Since then, Marisa has accepted just about every performance opportunity that has come her way. Three years ago, she landed a position with the Hernando Symphony Orchestra and also served as concertmaster with the Hernando Youth Symphony. Her talent has also earned Marisa a little pocket money, too. She plays first violin in a local string quartet that entertains at wedding receptions and parties in the area. With college just a few months away, Marisa has turned her attention to life after Hernando High. Her plans are to attend Florida State University, where she hopes to fine-tune her artistic talents for a career in advertising. But if the opportunity arises to study at a northern liberal arts college -- specifically, New York University or Boston College -- Marisa would jump at the chance. "To me, it would be great to be in an area where so much is going on," she said. "Those are the kind of schools where I can get a head start on what I want to do in my career." NAME: Marisa Grande AGE: 17 SCHOOL: Hernando High PARENTS: Mario and Andrea Grande HOBBIES: music, art and sports FAVORITE SUBJECT: English
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From today's Hernando Times |
