The Fresno Arts Council sponsors ArtHop, an event which educates the community about the local arts. In this column, junior Dana King chronicles her twice-a-month visits to ArtHop.

Art can be one of the most difficult projects for individuals to create in their lives. However, it is truly personal and has the possibility to be made out of nearly every material in the world.

Therefore, for the ArtHop on Feb. 17, I ventured to The Scene Gallery located off of Palm and Nees. Zachary Dylan Welsh, a recent graduate of California State University, Fresno, hosted his art at this venue.

Welsh said he does not have a single object or event that inspires him for his art, but that he dedicates as many hours to his work as he would a full-time job.

From a distance, Welsh’s pieces looked like classic paintings. However, the materials that compose them are unconventional.

Instead of a traditional canvas, Welsh uses aluminum sheets stretched over thin, square blocks of wood. Then, with a squeegee as his tool and various kinds of paints, he creates his pieces of art.

Each piece was very imaginative He chose about three or four different colored paints, then used a squeegee to spread them around on the smooth metal surface.

Each painting had vertical identical lines going through an abstract mess. Individually, each looked great; but they lost their initial spark because of the over-crowded arrangement in the small gallery. Though the idea is creative, I would not recommend doing a whole show strictly showcasing this kind of art.

The only painting that was different was a single poster which had the word “snakes” on it. In fact, Welsh said that it was his favorite painting.

I especially liked this piece of art. It reminded me of a logo typical of popular street brands. However, I am not sure if its appeal is because of popular culture or because it is a unique piece special to the artist.

Though this is not the most impressive show I have visited, I believe it is the first that has shown works more creative than the typical paint-on-canvas creations.

For more information on ArtHop, read the Feb. 8 article, Picture books entail unique craft, abstract art.

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