ArtPop Helps Parkland’s Jeremy Gipson to ‘REACH’ for His Dreams

By Cezanne Colvin

The ArtPop Lehigh Valley billboard competition gives you a reason to look up when you’re stuck in traffic!

Through December 2016, motorists on the Lehigh Valley’s busiest thorofares will be able to see dynamic works of art from the ArtPop winners on Adams Outdoor Advertising billboards throughout the region. Among the seven winners this year is Parkland High School senior Jeremy Gipson, whose charcoal drawing “REACH” earned him the first-ever ArtPop Scholastic winner title.

We recently caught up with Jeremy to learn more about him and his work. Here’s what he had to say:

Jeremy, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Jeremy Gipson: I love to make art and music. I’m excited to grow and become a better artist and person.

Looking at your work, it’s difficult to believe you struggle with anything artistic, but what’s the hardest thing for you to draw?

Jeremy Gipson: The hardest thing for me to draw is when I don’t know what it is I’m drawing. I draw and doodle constantly, but some days nothing stands out to me. When I focus on the techniques and placement of the lines and values, though, I find that I’m not scribbling for nothing. I play around with it like a puzzle, attempting to make it into a final piece that can be used. The more that I work, the better I get, and that’s my drive.

What was the ArtPop competition like for you?

Jeremy Gipson: It was fantastic. After I saw the proportions required for this contest, I knew I had to start something that would work with the 24’ x 6’ format. Knowing that it was a billboard contest, I wanted to make the final version contain more realism so that the driving viewer could easily interpret it.

I was so excited to win and I’m very humbled that people liked my art enough to make a massive print of it and put it on a billboard. Opportunities like this just make me want to create more.

If you could sit down with any artist and ask him or her any question, who would it be?

Jeremy Gipson: Tim Burton. I’d ask him, “What were the most important steps and events that made you the artist you are today?”

What’s next for you after you graduate from high school?

Jeremy Gipson: I want to go to college and get a job in both art and music. Hopefully, I can work within these fields and be able to feed myself and care for my friends and family.

For more information on ArtPop Lehigh Valley, please visit www.bananafactory.org/artpop. For details on the national ArtPop program, check out ArtPopStreetGallery.com.