Rockwall student wins Honorable Mention in Young Marine Artists Search

Shown presenting Michael Bonfante his check for $500 is RISD Fine Arts Director Chris Kosterman. Also present are (from left): Thom Loafman, Rockwall Art League President; Anne Foster, RHS Art Instructor; and Dr. Courtney Gober, Principal of RHS.

(ROCKWALL, TX – March 30, 2015) Rockwall High School senior Michael Bonfante was honored at the campus on March 20 with a check for $500 from the American Society of Marine Artists and the Rockwall Art League.  The award is in recognition of his success in the 2014 Young Marine Artists Search, sponsored by the American Society of Marine Artists.  Michael’s handpainted stoneware sculpture “Tropical Fish,” won Honorable Mention in the second annual competition.  One of 34 entries, Michael was the only winner from Texas.

“Tropical Fish” by Michael Bonfante: handpainted stoneware sculpture

This is not Michael’s first art-related honor.  He was recently elected President of the National Art Honor Society at RHS, which has a membership of about 35.  He is also one of 11 members of the Nasher Sculpture Center’s Student Advisory Board, which according to the Nasher are selected as “a dedicated panel of high-school students to develop ideas for student programs and take part in unique behind-the-scenes learning opportunities at the museum.”  In 2014, he was selected along with 18 other students for the Marie Sharpe Walsh Foundation Summer Seminar, a college-level residential institute for gifted art students held on the campus of Colorado College.  Michael states that the two weeks of intensive studio time and three days of plein air painting (painting from life outdoors), “were monumental to my development as an artist.”

Sideview: “Tropical Fish” by Michael Bonfante

Michael states that he became an artist “as soon as I could hold a pencil.”  He is an accomplished painter in both oil and acrylic, he sculpts in clay, and he creates three-dimensional works from “cut and formed sheets of wood.”  Michael is currently enrolled in the Advanced Placement 2D Portfolio class taught by Mr. Justin Clumpner, and the Advanced Sculpture class taught by Ms. Anne Foster, whom he recognizes for her contribution to his growth as an artist.  He also states that he “feels privileged to attend” Rockwall High School and participate in its Advanced Placement Art curriculum, noting the quality of instruction, the smaller classes, and the access to materials and tools that allow him and his fellow students to grow as artists.

Michael says that he plans to enter two art pieces in the 2015 Young Marine Artists Search, but that he’s not “keeping it to himself.”  He is encouraging his classmates to enter as well.  The Young Marine Artists Search is open to artist aged 16 through 23.  This year’s deadline is July 1.  The Rockwall Art League is cooperating with the American Society of Marine Artists to promote the YMAS in the North Texas region.  For a prospectus on the 2015 competition, go to: http://www.rockwallartleague.org/young-marine-artists-search/

Michael Bonfante is the son of Angela and Vittorio Bonfante of Rockwall, and brother to Matthew Bonfante, an RHS graduate who is a senior studying Accounting at the University of Texas.

Submitted by Thom Loafman, Rockwall Art League President.

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