Color my world: Talented RHS senior expands his artistic horizons

By Bruce Strand on January 8, 2011 at 7:42 pm

Nate Scharber displays a recent portrait, in his RHS art classroom. (Photo by Bruce Strand)

by Bruce Strand, Arts editor

Nate Scharber has been filling sketchbooks since he was a kid, turning hundreds of well-constructed drawings of faces, animals, buildings, cityscapes, and action figures.

But everything was black and white until this year.

“I was kind of afraid to embrace color,” said Scharber, a straight-A student involved in many activities. “I had tried a couple and they didn’t go so well.”

A Nate Scharber sunset landscape.

This year, art teacher, Su Sebgahti, challenged Scharber to start dipping a brush into oils and watercolor.

“I had taken Drawing I and Drawing II and the only thing left was painting,” said Scharber. “So I gave painting a try.”

These ice-covered rocks were his first attempt at painting.

Sebgahti has been very pleased with his reponse.

“He could always draw, and he picked it up (color) right away,” said Sebghati. “He has made some very good paintings.”

Scharber has the innate ability to “look at something and make the painting something his own, something unique,” said Sebgahti.

She adds: “He is a great student. He’s in Knowledge Bowl and a lot of activities. Art is just one of the things in his world.”

Scharber’s first effort was the icy rocks (below) that he handled pretty well, and he was hooked, so painting was added to his list of activities that includes Knowledge Bowl, National Honor Society, Link, Snowboarding Club, Art Club, and track-and-field.

He plans to major in biomedical engineering at the University of Minnesota with the goal of helping create solutions to health problems.

“I’d really like to do something that will help people,” he sdaid.

He plans to minor in art, and, now that working in color is exciting rather than intimidating, is hoping to glean some art scholarship funds, starting with the the National Scholarship Competition he recently entered.

“Art is something I will always do, on the side,” said Scharber.