Young East Windsor Artist Gains Exposure

Although he is only 14, Ryan Gondarowski has been studying art for four years.

His mother, Marci Stiles, start he started showing an interest in art in about fifth grade.

“Art and guitar are two things he has been most interested in, and we have fostered those passions,” Stiles said. “I thought it was important to expose him to different mediums and techniques.”

Through the end of September, Ryan’s work is on display at the Warehouse Point Library in East Windsor. He has about 20 pieces, with mixed mediums, including ink sketches, watercolors, and acrylic paintings.

When explaining his methods he is very articulate, discussing how he used a watercolor wash and then colored pencils to add detail to one piece with an ocean scene. This can help add dimension and is less time consuming than using only colored pencil to achieve darker hues, he said.

Right now Ryan is interested in color theory. “I like learning about how warming and cooling colors can make it a piece that flows naturally,” he said.

One of the pieces he illustrates this with is a color pencil still life of an apple. It took multiple pencil colors and layers to achieve the soft oranges and reds, Ryan said.

“I like trying new techniques and seeing what happens,” he said. One piece was done on yupo, a special kind of plastic paper where the paint takes weeks to dry. He said you can remove mistakes, but the paint also runs off the edges a little and can smudge.

A large piece, an acrylic on canvas, illustrates birch trees in his grandmother’s back yard. He worked on it over a few months, he estimates about 14 hours total. Another watercolor of blueberries took him only 30-45 minutes.

Ryan started a homeschooling program in fifth grade, and in sixth and seventh grade his maternal grandmother, Marcia Ojantakanen, taught him art appreciation classes. For the last two years, he has taken non-credit art courses at Manchester Community College, learning about charcoal sketching and color theory.

His paternal grandmother, Wendy Gondarowski, often takes him to art museums and helps pay for his art classes as well.

He also has been taking group classes from Alexandra Walters, to study colored pencil techniques. She is a member of the Artists at Indian Orchard Mills in Springfield, Mass.

“Besides his natural talents, he has an unusual maturity. He is a really fine example of how important it is to support young artists in their endeavors,” Walters said. “Sometimes adults don’t always invest in that level of support, but his family has been very supportive. 

He has come so far and done wonderful work. It’s not just his talent and passion, I think through this people also can see what is possible when young artists receive education about art and professional materials.”

Stiles said the Tobacco Valley Art Association has invited him to join as a result of the show as well, so he will attend an upcoming meeting to find out more about the group.

Cheryl Merkt, owner of the Country Artist in Windsor Locks, said Ryan has taken a number of workshops about watercolor techniques at the shop. Geared toward adults, the workshops last about a week, patrons can take one day or the whole series.

“Ryan is an amazing young man, we have enjoyed having him,” Merkt said. “He presents himself well and fits right in with everyone.”

Merkt said he takes the workshops seriously and works hard at the all-day classes. Last spring, one had a different artist each day talking about different watercolor techniques, such as glazing, embossing and collage.

“He has so much innate talent and it is great to see him exploring different mediums,” she said.