Art can give people a voice who can’t speak their thoughts out loud. 12th grader Victor Pantaleon has been an artist for as long as he can remember. UHS News wants to celebrate the artistic talents of Wildcat Nation and for our first “Artist Spotlight” we are excited to feature Pantaleon. He runs an Instagram account sharing his art under the name “Pantslion”, and sat down with us to discuss his art, his passion, and his talent.
Thinking back to his childhood, Pantaleon remembered, “I would always be asking for new coloring books and art supplies.” He couldn’t say when he first experienced his love of art because it’s always been with him.
Pantaleon’s art “depicts my love and appreciation for details”, he told us. When he first started to explore art, Pantaleon explained “I would always be drawing my favorite anime characters mainly Goku and Naruto.” He was fascinated with the style of anime because of its “unique style” and “ the amount of detail that goes into the style.”
The type of anime that most inspires Pantaleon is created by Mappa, a Japanese animation studio. He said, the artists of Mappa “have an amazing style.” Those artists, Pantaleon explained, “carried 2021” by making interesting art and stories for the world to enjoy. These artists work to adapt manga, basically, Japanese comic books, to television and movies and Pantaleon said, “They are able to animate the animes so well that the scenes look straight from the manga.”
According to Pantaleon, his favorite medium for his art is acrylic paint, a fast-drying paint he learned with Rose Easterbrook, Ukiah High’s very own art teacher. Pantaleon told us he used to dislike acrylic paint, but after an assignment, “ it gave me a new perspective of it.” Mrs. Easterbrook showed Pantaleon the depth of acrylic paint and gave him a new appreciation for it.
Pantaleon’s biggest challenge in his art has been “finding out what I truly like to draw.” He tried realism, but he found that he “really enjoyed doing a cartoonish style.”
Pantaleon has not gotten much criticism for his art and has found that his friends are “super supportive” and his family is especially supportive by buying him supplies for his work.
Knowing the importance of his passion, Pantaleon is “always work[ing] on his painting.” Like an athlete and their sport, or a poet and their pen, Pantaleon told us “Even when I’m not painting, I’m coming up with ideas for my next project”
