In Our Lobby: Art by Leo Snowbarger

Leo Snowbarger

Art by Central Sands Community High School Sophomore Leo Snowbarger is currently on display in the Jensen Community Center’s lobby. We invite you to visit during regular business hours or attend a public event this winter to see his work, composed of the “Alice in Wonderland Trio” and two of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse — Death and Famine. In addition to his displayed art, Snowbarger received a gold medal for “Cyclical Serenade,” a piece entered in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards’ Digital Art category. Leo recently shared insights about his art for the Spirit:

How did you start or plan the images in “Alice in Wonderland Trio”?

I created these three pieces as a school project about the book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll in 2024. My goal was to examine several characters from the story and translate them into three separate artworks that all connect. I started by selecting what characters I wanted to mainly feature, (The Cheshire Cat as well as the King and Queen of Hearts), then I began sketching their designs while looking at other interpretations of the characters across pop culture. Including study time, it took me around two weeks to complete this project.

What was your inspiration or concept for the two horseman pieces?

These two pieces were inspired by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. I wanted to test my character design skills and although I only finished two of the four horsemen — Death and Famine — I am still happy with how they both turned out.

What is your preferred artistic medium or subject to create?

I make most all of my finished art work on a digital software called Clip Studio Paint, using an art tablet. I still enjoy traditional pencil sketching but I am able to achieve more on the computer than I can otherwise, especially when it comes to making slight tweaks. Digital art is also much easier to use for printing purposes and creating designs for physical products.

What are your creative outlets?

Mostly drawing and sketching but more specifically character design, graphic design, concept art, and even a little bit of animation. I post almost everything that I make on Instagram @BlueMossStudio.

What do you want people to know about your creation process?

I take way too long to finish full art pieces. It’s usually once in a blue moon when something strikes me to fully complete a project.

What is visually most important to you in “Cyclical Serenade”?

I really love the colors in this piece. The deep blood reds and the dark greens really bring out the vibe that I wanted.

What was the most difficult element to create in “Cyclical Serenade” and why?

Balancing all the elements in the piece was difficult because I want the main highlight to be the cat, but also the mice along the bottom. It’s important to make the small elements feel equal to the larger elements.

“Alice in Wonderland Trio”

“Cyclical Serenade”