What had once started as a simple curiosity has grown into a burning passion that will surely occupy the rest of my life. After leaving the east coast to study at the University of Wyoming, I have had the opportunity to study with excellent instructors and to hone my skills into a unique, personal style. Combining both my experiences and influences from the east and west, my art is a mirror of my own creative output and ideas about what it means to be a traditional artist in a digital age. I love art because there are so many different methods and mediums it can be made with. Art can be anything from a silly doodle to the deepest expression of the human condition. I have always prided myself in being a quick learner with art. I have applied myself to many mediums and have found success with each one. Currently, my medium of choice is pen and ink illustration. It is the medium that I have the most experience with and I feel as if I am most comfortable with. My biggest artistic dream right now is to publish my own graphic novel, illustrated and written by me. I have been working on this graphic novel for about a year now, developing concept art and outlining plot points. I have taken storytelling and comic classes along with my art classes to help me better understand the medium and to produce the best story I can. After I am done with my graphic novel, I hope to continue creating art for both myself and for the public to enjoy. I have already done multiple professional, published illustrations and mural projects, which I plan to continue doing throughout my artistic career. I would say that my favorite piece in my portfolio is my concept art for the graphic novel I have been working on named “The Return to Bahkkar”. I want create a sort of medieval-science fiction about a world named Bahkkar. On this world, a man named Custer has taken advantage of a deadly virus and lack of education and through the use of plastic filaments and dyed skin, has convinced the public that he is from another world. The main character, Duncan Castle, is an drug addled interceptor (a medieval policeman who is pictured above) an comes across a sword with magical properties called The Green Flame. This sword is very powerful but what Duncan soon finds out is that it causes rapid aging. The main struggle of the story is of Castle trying to let go of his addictions to both drugs and the sword as well as fighting off Custer who wants the sword for himself. Castle eventually finds out that Custer is his long lost brother which ends up complicating things. I do not have the entire story written out but this is the basic premise. I wish I could attach more concept art because I have made so many other pieces for this story I would love to share with you. Anyway, please consider my application as I could really benefit from your charity to help make this dream of mine a reality. Creating this story is something I want more than anything and if I had your help, I could really make it happen. Thanks for hearing me out!

What had once started as a simple curiosity has grown into a burning passion that will surely occupy the rest of my life. I love art because there are so many different methods and mediums it can be made with. Art can be anything from a silly doodle to the deepest expression of the human condition. Currently, my medium of choice is pen and ink illustration. It is the medium that I have the most experience with and I feel as if I am most comfortable with. My biggest artistic dream right now is to publish my own graphic novel, illustrated and written by me. I have been working on this graphic novel for about a year now, developing concept art and outlining plot points. I have taken storytelling and comic classes along with my art classes to help me better understand the medium and to produce the best story I can. After I am done with my graphic novel, I hope to continue creating art for both myself and for the public to enjoy. I have already done multiple professional, published illustrations and mural projects, which I plan to continue doing throughout my artistic career. With your generosity, I will be able to make my ambitions a reality. The piece I have presented is a piece of concept art for the graphic novel I am working on. I want create a sort of medieval-science fiction about a world named Bahkkar. On this world, a man named Custer has taken advantage of a deadly virus and lack of education and through the use of plastic filaments and dyed skin, has convinced the public that he is from another world. The main character, Duncan Castle, is an drug addled interceptor (a medieval policeman who is pictured above) an comes across a sword with magical properties called The Green Flame. This sword is very powerful but what Duncan soon finds out is that it causes rapid aging. The main struggle of the story is of Castle trying to let go of his addictions to both drugs and the sword as well as fighting off Custer who wants the sword for himself. Castle eventually finds out that Custer is his long lost brother which ends up complicating things. I do not have the entire story written out but this is the basic premise. I wish I could attach more concept art because I have made so many other pieces for this story I would love to share with you. Anyway, please consider my application as I could really benefit from your charity to help make this dream of mine a reality. Creating this story is something I want more than anything and if I had your help, I could really make it happen. Thanks for hearing me out!

Greetings, my name is Luca Matthew Palescandolo and I think I am a fitting applicant for your scholarship. I am seventeen years old and was born in central New Jersey. I am a senior in high school and I work hard to maintain a consistent 3.7 GPA. I play several schools year-round and have had a consistent job for over two years now at an Animal Hospital. I am attending the University of Wyoming in the fall and plan to major in art. Ever since I started drawing a couple of years ago, all I have ever wanted to do is create art. In the piece attached to this application, I depicted an imagined scene of battle. “Attack on Bahakkar” has been an important piece for me in my development as an artist. Never before this illustration had I attempted a piece as crowded with dynamic figures and battle. The piece is 8’’x11’’ has a traditional singular vanishing point towards the castle in the background. Inspired by masters like Frank Frazetta, Moebius, and Michael Whelan, I created characters that despite being fictional, seem fitting for the setting that they are in. I loved adding small details like the wavy swords of the knights or the planet Earth way in the background. These details are both real-world objects but have been warped into this fantastical universe along with other effects to produce a piece that is somewhat familiar yet totally unique. I love to express myself creatively and drawings like these with action and thrill are the ones that I usually idolize the most from my favorite artists. Although this work took a long time, I would say it was one of my favorite and most fun projects. I cannot wait to make more like it. I hope that if anything this application gave you a peek into my brain and gave you an understanding of how much I love art. It is something I want to do for the rest of my life and with your generous support, that is something I can make a reality. Link to drawing: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hJY0tX3HSyQfPTSdsr6u5P6QYxtABuypcJutoUXAv_0/edit

Greetings, my name is Luca Matthew Palescandolo and I think I am a fitting applicant for your scholarship. I am seventeen years old and was born in central New Jersey. I am a senior in high school and I work hard to maintain a consistent 3.7 GPA. I play several schools year-round and have had a consistent job for over two years now at an Animal Hospital. Ever since I started drawing a couple of years ago, all I have ever wanted to do is create art. I plan on attending the University of Wyoming in the fall. my current plan is to attend the University of Wyoming for a year and then take advantage of the school abroad programs and study in Italy. My family is native to Italy and I speak Italian myself. I have also always been fascinated with Italian art and I think studying in Italy would have an enormous impact on my life. some of the greatest artists of all time are native to Italy and Italy has a huge focus on the Arts. If I had to pick, I would probably end up studying in Rome or Florence because these are the centers of Art in Italy. I think traveling wood not only helps me become a better artist but would change the way I see the world and make me a better person. I have always wanted to study abroad and with your generosity, I can make that a reality.

Greetings, my name is Luca Matthew Palescandolo and I think I am a fitting applicant for your scholarship. I am seventeen years old and was born in central New Jersey. I am a senior in high school and I work hard to maintain a consistent 3.7 GPA. I play several schools year-round and have had a consistent job for over two years now at an Animal Hospital. Ever since I started drawing a couple of years ago, all I have ever wanted to do is create art. So when asked what imagination means to me, I think greatly before responding. Humans have this unique gift to be able to visualize our wildest thoughts. We also have the rare ability to translate those ideas onto a canvass or sheet of paper. When we pour our imagination onto those mediums, we name it art. It is something I want to do for the rest of my life and with your generous support, that is something I can make a reality.

Hello, members of the Davis family. My name is Luca Matthew Palescandolo and I think I am a decent choice for your scholarship. I am seventeen years old and was born in central Jersey. My entire life, I have been blessed with a loving family and a strong connection with God. My family immigrated on ships from Italy generations ago and I have always tried my best to maintain those traditions that they instilled in me. I can even speak fluent Italian. When your introduction mentioned how Mr. Davis loved to sing, I immediately thought back to how my three brothers and I would sing around the piano for our family during Christmas and other special occasions. The arts have always been very important to me and my family, my great uncle even studied with Picasso. Over the years, I have developed a passion for art more and more to a point where I will spend up to three or four hours a day drawing and painting in my room. I realized that the feeling I get when creating art is something I want to always have with me. So I decided that I would become an artist. I am currently committed to the University of Wyoming to study art and get my degree. I chose Wyoming not only because of the beautiful scenery and good folk but also because it was one of the cheaper options for a college to attend. I hope to one day have my work displayed in a gallery where all my family and friends can attend and receive awards for my hard work. I also hope to have a family and some little boys and girls on a large plot of land in the open country. Those ideas are honestly what excites me most in life and are what keep me going. On the topic of community service and giving back, I plan to continue my volunteering efforts throughout my life. While canoeing the Boundary Waters of Minnesota for a month with Outward Bound, my peers and I collected trash in the rivers. I also currently have a job as a veterinary technician's assistant at the Willowbrook Animal Clinic where I used to volunteer at for several years. I work hard in school to maintain a consistent 3.7 GPA and I play several school sports including cross country, swimming, and track & field. I am also invested in multiple clubs in schools such as the Art Club and the Multicultural Club. Family is something that is very important to both of us so it would mean a lot if your generosity helped my aspirations for college and a career. Please consider my application.