Pascack Hills senior Alfonso Di Popolo is currently a member of the National Art Honor Society (NAHS) and has an internship at SpeedPro Westwood, a local print deal company. There, he learns from professionals about the ins and outs of advertising by printing logos and signs for various companies.
Di Popolo first found his love for art through comics; his biggest inspirations being comic book artists Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby. Through Di Popolo’s time at Hills, he has gotten the chance to explore other techniques and art styles. Di Popolo is enrolled in AP drawing, but has been taking an art class at Hills since his freshman year: Studio Art I, Studio Art II, and AP 2D Art. He now tutors other students in Art teacher Angela Rossi’s room upon request, teaching methods to perfect the building blocks of drawing such as guidelines, proportions, foregrounds, and horizon levels.
Hills has allowed Di Popolo to not only explore his abilities as an artist, but tie them into his interests and activities. Last year, he created a logo digitally for the Pascack Hills Cross Country Team, which was printed on t-shirts for the team and also was printed on stickers which were given out at the 8th Grade Orientation Night.
Recently, Di Popolo has put together a portfolio including mostly charcoal and colored pencil pieces. He claims charcoal allows him to “just play around with the lights and darks to make something impactful.”
He also merges unique creative techniques to create a dynamic look to his portfolio, such as spilling coffee on his paper intentionally, and cutting and pasting drawings to formulate one cumulative piece.
One piece from Di Popolo that stands out is a colored pencil cut and paste drawing featuring a dark force looming throughout an apartment building. In some windows it hides, while in others it is clearly apparent. It represents the idea that there is always an antagonist in everyone’s story, but it appears in many different forms and there are many ways to deal with it.
Di Popolo is interested in pursuing digital or industrial design in the future. He is hoping to go to Pratt Institute, Rhode Island School of Design, or New York University for their amazing art programs. He gives some credit to Pascack Hills for allowing him to grow and cultivate his artistry and ambitions.
“Pascack Hills has inspired a lot. Not just the school itself, but also the people kind of showed me ways to improve my art and always inspire me to do more.”
