THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 27, 1996 TAG: 9609270071
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANGELA HICKS, HIGH SCHOOL CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: 53 lines
``GARFIELD,'' ``Fox Trot'' and ``Marvin.'' Comic strips are for kids and the young at heart.
Political and commentary cartoons - comic references to complex political issues or life in general - are considered the domain of adults.
Two local teens who dabble in that complex humor will this year be building a bridge from the adult world to the teen-age mind as Teenology cartoonists. They are Christopher Peach, a senior at Maury High School in Norfolk, and Kenneth Moore, a sophomore at Franklin High School in Franklin who also studies at the Governor's School for the Arts.
``I've been drawing basically all of my life,'' said Christopher, who discovered a talent in art in first grade. Today, his talents include drawing and painting, with special emphasis on acrylics and water-color.
``Political cartoons are a first for me,'' he said. ``I'm kind of new at it.''
Despite his inexperience in political art, Christopher does enjoy displaying the lighter side of issues. ``I try to look at something and then make it funny,'' he said.
Christopher gets inspiration for his art from a variety of sources, but he is most inspired by a diverse group of friends that include writers and athletes.
``I think it's a good idea to have friends with a variety of interests,'' he said. ``It helps me to get ideas.''
Christopher often uses his friends as models for his favorite art form: portraits. ``I tried to do colored chalk portraits, but I'm currently perfecting watercolor portraits.''
Christopher offers his friends this service for free.
``I think a lot of my friends get a kick out of it. It influences them to go after their goals. It makes them think that `If he can do it, then I can too,' '' he said.
Kenneth Moore started drawing in kindergarten, mostly dinosaurs and rockets. In sixth grade, he realized that he was more than a casual notebook doodler.
``I realized that I could capture the character of what I was drawing,'' Kenneth said.
In eighth grade, he took his first art class. By ninth, he carried a portfolio of still lifes, pen-and-ink drawings and block prints over to the Governor's School and was accepted.
Someday he'd like to draw comic books professionally. Until then, he'll keep studying his craft and pursuing his other hobby, skate-boarding.
Look for the work of these young artists in the Teenology section. MEMO: Angela Hicks is a senior at Woodrow Wilson High School in
Portsmouth.
KEYWORDS: TEEN CORRESPONDENTS CARTOONS by CNB