The Middle School Art Exhibition recognizes talented student artists in middle school art! The online exhibition consists of over 100 student artworks from Baltimore County Public Schools middle schools, spanning Grades 6-8. 24 selected artworks are on display at the Greenwood Administration Building A, 6901 Charles St, Towson, MD, 21204, from May 27, 2026 – September 21, 2026, from 9:00am-4:30pm. Student artists were recognized by grade level for Best in Show, 1st Place, 2nd Place, 3rd Place, and Honorable Mention. A reception by invitation was held on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, and awards were presented to students. Students’ works range from paintings, drawings, ceramics, mixed media, and sculptures. The Middle School Art Exhibition is the reflection of our high-quality and responsive BCPS Visual Arts curriculum that supports our students' artistic ability, skill development, and art exploration while allowing students to make meaningful connections to their work. We would like to congratulate all our student artists in this exhibit!
The artworks appearing here in the Spotlight Artists section were juried and selected to be featured at the Greenwood Administration Building A, in Towson, Maryland. These artworks will be on display at this location until September 21, 2026.
6th Grade
1st Place
The objects that I drew in my still life were an apple, a necklace, and a flower. One skill that I learned and used in my still life was shading with pencil. One part of my artwork that I think I completed skillfully was the shading because, without it, the drawing would have looked plain. The part of my still life that I wish I could re-do is the flower because I feel it could have turned out more realistic.
2nd Place
The objects that I drew in my still life were an apple, a necklace, and a flower. One skill that I learned and used in my still life was shading with pencil. One part of my artwork that I think I completed skillfully was the shading because, without it, the drawing would have looked plain. The part of my still life that I wish I could re-do is the flower because I feel it could have turned out more realistic.
3rd Place
Best in Show
Teacher Statement by Ms. Alison Paul: Mason’s artwork, Color Monster, is a colorful creature made with painted paper, oil pastel resist techniques, and cut shapes. Mason carefully chose bright colors and line patterns to make his monster excited and emotional. Mason enjoyed the variety of techniques, especially watching the lines and patterns appear through the paint. Color Monster is a lot like Mason - expressive and full of personality.
Honorable Mention
For my artwork, I created a Notan design, which is a type of art that uses positive and negative space. I used black and white paper to show balance, contrast, and movement in my design. I carefully cut out shapes and flipped them to the opposite side so the design would look connected and balanced. My goal was to make the viewer’s eye move around the whole artwork. I learned that even simple shapes can create an interesting design when they are arranged thoughtfully. This project helped me understand how artists use light and dark, symmetry, and space to create a strong composition. I am proud of my artwork because it shows creativity, patience, and careful craftsmanship.
7th Grade
2nd Place
My title for my landscape is Rocky Shoreline. My painting shows a beach hidden behind trees with Rocky cliffs. I decided to draw this specific scene because of my love for the beach. I used watercolor as the base for my artwork and then used colored pencils to add detail over top. I used different colors and shades to add shadows on the rocks and to add depth and value to the trees and water to make the scene more realistic. A challenge I had was how to make the water look calm, but also have definition and I solved it by adding small strokes of darker blue shaded colored pencils to achieve the "still" effect.
3rd Place
My acrylic painting of mylar balloons shows my creativity and effort. I made sure to use a creative arrangement by placing the balloons in a way that fills the space and makes the painting interesting to look at. I also chose colors that stand out and make the balloons look bright and shiny. My painting includes at least three balloons, and I arranged them so the composition looks balanced. I showed my understanding of value and color mixing by adding highlights and shadows to each balloon. This makes them look round and more realistic. I mixed my paint carefully to match the colors I saw in my reference photo. I also paid attention to details so my balloons are painted accurately based on the photograph. The placement of my balloons is organized and interesting, and it helps guide the viewer’s eye around the painting. I made sure there is not too much empty space by filling the background and arranging the balloons thoughtfully. Overall, my painting shows my skills in painting, color mixing, and careful observation.
Best in Show
This unit, our goal as artists, was to capture a historical moment in time that we, as students, felt shaped our world today. I expected many of my peers to base their art on iconic figures or events that have shaped society, and while Frida Kahlo is a global icon today, her rise to fame happened long after her death. For my collage, I chose to focus on Frida Kahlo, a globally accepted artist all around the world. Although Frida was recognized for her phenomenal artwork including “The Two Fridas” and “A Self Portrait With Thorn Necklace and Humming Bird”, Frida Kahlo's experience of being bedridden and paralyzed was, in my opinion, what truly sparked her art career. Following a severe 1925 bus accident that shattered her spine and left her bedridden in full-body casts, Frida Kahlo began painting to cope with her pain. Her mother installed a mirror above her bed, allowing Kahlo to paint self-portraits while bedridden , turning her trauma into art and launching her art career. After finding out the reason behind all of Frida’s pieces, I was determined to teach others about it too. Using small pieces of magazine paper, Elmer’s glue, and a lot of patience, I was able to create a piece of artwork that told the story of an artist that turned pain and agony into breathtaking artwork and a lot of resilience.
Honorable Mention
"In my artwork I wanted to use some muted and very bright colors in one space. The reason for each item was the contrast and shape of them. For me, they all seemed to fit pretty well together, and with the lemon being a bright yellow I decided to use an almost opposite color with the background so it sticks out. Again, with the cone being a little more muted I think it fits really well the way you can see it through the jar and against the background. I mixed all sorts of colors for the table and lemon, some greens, oranges, browns, tans, maybe blues... I really enjoyed making this project because it was something I've only worked with once in the past. Oil pastels, for me, are amazing supplies to use and I think they're very smooth and straight forward to work with.
Honorable Mention
In this still life titled "Wisps of Wonder" a mug explodes with a galaxy. White colored pencils and black drawing paper were used. Additionally, the lightest points were marked first as well as the very darkest being outlined. Behind this, I wanted to depict the extraordinary occurrences found in daily life. I also wanted to create a feeling of wonder and to not use as much blending. My goal of this artwork was to capture the values of the cup while not relying on blending. Finally, I feel this did not turn out how I imagined since I did not know I was going to add planets. However, I feel it looks better in this new idea and is a strong example of how adjusting to different circumstances can give you greater outcomes.
Honorable Mention
The process of creating my wired bird was exciting and challenging for me. I chose a bird because I thought the bird would be beautiful and simple during the finished product. From the start where I had to sketch my bird on a grid, to then bend wire using the grid sketch of my bird, and to finally balance and make it stand on a wood block. This was the best project this year!
8th Grade
1st Place
My surrealism painting titled “It’s a Piece of Cake!” painted with tempera paint was inspired by the idiom, it’s a piece of cake. In the painting, you can see a large, delicious cake floating in the sky which a person is relentlessly trying to reach. The setting in the painting is dreamlike and mazelike with the never ending stairs and signs, showing the cake isn’t as easy to reach as it seems; that it’s not always a piece of cake. As for the elephant, I just like elephants! I love surrealism because you can create whatever you want –even if it makes no sense at all!
2nd Place
I tilted my face at a 3/4 angle in order to show a creative point of view. I created an interesting composition by using the dragon that I drew in the background to curve around my face which helped guide the eye of the viewer around the entire artwork. To create my artwork, I used many graphite sticks and pencils that ranged from an HB all the way to an 8B which helped me create form and value. Many of the challenges I faced included capturing the accurate form of the lip and the texture of the hair. To solve these issues I studied the form of my face in the mirror and measured the distance between the facial features. My portrait is important to me because it represents my culture and my family heritage. My dragon is inspired by many dragons in Chinese literature and artwork.
3rd Place
My title for my landscape is Rocky Shoreline. My painting shows a beach hidden behind trees with Rocky cliffs. I decided to draw this specific scene because of my love for the beach. I used watercolor as the base for my artwork and then used colored pencils to add detail over top. I used different colors and shades to add shadows on the rocks and to add depth and value to the trees and water to make the scene more realistic. A challenge I had was how to make the water look calm, but also have definition and I solved it by adding small strokes of darker blue shaded colored pencils to achieve the still effect.
Best in Show
I chose to draw and render a self-portrait. I chose a self-portrait because we were working on portraits during the time I was planning, and I wanted to give a hard perspective to some people. I created emphasis with my violin specifically with how my violin and I were positioned. I want my viewers to focus on my face and my instrument. The most significant symbol is my instrument which I put there because I love music with passion. I've been playing this instrument since I was in elementary school, and I've basically grown up with it. The overall mood of my painting is comfort because I was in my room when I took that photo surrounded by things i loved. I achieved this feeling by drawing myself in comfortable clothes, the plushy and shelf in my room in my bed and just typical things you find in a room that make it comforting. After seeing my painting, I hope the viewer takes away the feeling of a girl's daily life Aswell as the fine detail I put into my portrait.
Honorable Mention
My Gridded portrait portrays a man with a stern face, with void-like eyes staring blankly towards the viewer's direction. The deep contrast of value and blending in my artwork emphasizes the man's facial structure. The deep shadows and bold highlights create a balanced contrast in my artwork. My artwork was created using the grid method, which allows an artist to focus on drawing a reference one square at a time. The materials used in creating the artwork were a pencil, , a cotton swab, and an eraser to correct mistakes. I would blend by lightly drawing with a pencil then smoothing it out with either my finger or a cotton swab. While creating this artwork, I had one goal in mind, which was to make the artwork as accurate to the reference as possible. Of course, not everything can be perfect. I was upset whenever people mistook my artwork for the famous rapper, Eminem, although I can see the resemblance. I taught myself that not everything has to be perfect. If everything were to be identical, then it wouldn't be my artwork, it'd just be a copy. In the end, I'm really proud of the final result of my artwork. I'm glad to call it mine as it shows the variety of skills I've learned throughout my art journey.
Honorable Mention
This is the shrimp painting I made for my dad as a birthday present. Both of us are very happy that it got chosen for this, and I am extremely grateful. I had a lot of fun playing with the colors, layering, and using purple to bring other colors out. I used purple under the dark blue for the background to make a more vibrant indigo shade, and I used purple to shade the shrimp to bring out the orange. This is one of the most fun projects I’ve done in school, and I’m very honored to have made it into this competition!
Honorable Mention
My artwork “Focus” is based on a photograph of a cacti. I named it “Focus” because the cactus is focused in the artwork, like a camera focuses on an item. Everything in the background is lighter and less detailed. I used Prismacolor pencils for a vibrant and lively look. To blend, I used a dark color on one side, light on the other, and a medium but bright shade in the middle. I used a catus reference photo because I like to draw plants and their environment.
Background artwork by Evan S. at Middle River Middle School, Grade 8
Grade 6
"The Castles - Based on Paul Klee's Castle and Sun" by Sophia S. at Lansdowne Middle School , Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8