Brenna Mefford’s love of painting florals will be featured in a larger-than-life way soon.
She was tapped to create a floral painting that will be printed as an 11.5 x 9 foot banner to hang on the Maguana’s Unique Gifts & Flowers building at the corner of Main and Sixth streets.
The design committee of the Carrollton Main Street Program commissioned the artwork as part of an ongoing project. Mefford was recommended by her art teacher, Jeremy Cobb.
“At first I told him I didn’t want to do it, but eventually he talked me into it,” she said with a smile.
Cobb, however, said he knew ”right away without hesitation” that Brenna would be the best art student for this project. “Brenna and I took the subject with a lot of images and condensed the idea down to a more simple, aesthetically pleasing execution. Once we had the design completed, Brenna took leadership on the project on her own,” Cobb said.
The Carroll County High School student is modest about her abilities and tends to shy away from the spotlight. “I think it’s cool, but it’s still weird to have my artwork blown up,” she said.
Mefford most enjoys painting landscapes and florals, which is why she thinks Cobb encouraged her to pursue this project.
“Brenna is a very caring person, respectful student and possesses skill and natural talent for art,” Cobb said.
She has loved drawing and painting since she was a young girl, noting she took a lot of painting classes from local artist Sharon Graves.
“I’ve always liked to draw and paint,” she said. “That was the first thing I started in 4-H and extracurricular activities.”
Graves, who started teaching Brenna when she was 8 years old, said “she was a very conscientious student who wanted to learn and made every effort to create her own beautiful art.”
Mefford said drawing florals to be enlarged are not as challenging because the flowers tend to stay within proper proportions. Her process begins with a background color, usually some shade of green, then works with the central color and locations of the flowers. In this painting, she got some help from Cobb because some of the flower shapes were a little different.
Carroll County Schools Superintendent Casey Jaynes said, “It continues to amaze me the incredible talents our students possess. Brenna’s growth and journey with her artistic talent is a prime example.”
After high school Mefford said she might pursue a career in graphic design, but she’s not certain. “In my heart I would love to sit and paint all day,” she said.