Among the many talented students at Coronado High School (CHS) is rising senior Ethan Lam who excels at Visual Arts within the Coronado School of the Arts (CoSA).
Ethan says he grew up creating art. His mother jokes that Ethan drew a self-portrait before he could write his name. By the time he entered middle school, Ethan was already creating life-like works of complex animals.
Ethan’s artistic process starts with a concept from, “reading or seeing something that really makes me feel something, whether it be positive or negative, I’ll take that feeling and run with it.” Next, he visualizes the idea in a sketchbook spread across two pages in a portrait-style bound sketchbook. He then sets a schedule to gage the expected finishing time, so he can gather materials, and get to work. Ethan’s art projects can range from two hours to two months.
Ethan’s favorite work of art is an oil painting on plywood titled Cradle Catholic. This work is Ethan’s personal response to the Vatican’s statement that they will not allow or bless same-sex marriage. Ethan shared, “One of the main reasons I think I just really enjoy this piece is just my deep passion and care towards the subject matter, making the emotional quality from this piece feel so natural and something I was proud of myself for achieving.”
The Coronado Historical Association’s 2020 Virtual Exhibit of Student Art of the Pandemic included one of Ethan’s paintings titled Showoff. Ethan mentions, “This piece serves as a commentary on how toxic masculinity can be harmful because the man is forced to hide behind makeup to fulfill the expectation of not acting as the ideal man society projects. The man cries to show that despite the thought that men aren’t supposed to show emotion, it’s completely natural to want to show emotion and to have feelings as nobody is ever truly completely stable.”
Ethan is inspired by a variety of artists including famous fashion designers, songwriters, and fellow CoSA Visual Arts students. Many of Ethan’s artist idols are also Asian. He mentions, “Seeing people that look like myself achieving these high positions is really something that helps me to keep pushing and that despite coming from a different background than many of my peers or not having a typical ‘European atelier style of painting,’ I could still succeed!”
No matter how busy Ethan is — interning at CHA, working as an art assistant in Logan Heights, gardening, and reading — he always finds time for art. During the summer Ethan spends four to seven hours every day working on some kind of art project. In the school year, Ethan still finds the time to spend around two hours every day on art projects. During the spring and summer 2020 quarantine Ethan entered an “Art Fever Dream” where he would create paintings, sculptures, drawings, and textiles from the time he woke up right until he went to sleep.
As a rising senior at CHS, Ethan is deciding his post-graduation plans. He is mostly applying to art institutes, or Arts and Design programs with plans to double major in both architecture and fashion design.
