Surfing and Splashing at Reese Newlin’s Senior Art Exhibition

Bex Keller-Carroll, Staff Writer

December 15, 2025

Reese often paints different surfboards — just another canvas and art style she’s capable of skillfully designing. Surfing is one of Reese’s favorite pastimes; she picked up surfing after two consecutive ACL tears she suffered from playing beach volleyball. For her, it’s another means of exploring nature and delving into the complex world of the ocean. Whether it’s her art or her sport, Reese is never afraid to try something new and experiment despite the risks.

Rush hour hit the library stairs after school, which were crowded with Bishopians observing and admiring Reese Newlin’s (‘26) newest art exhibition, called The Art of Living, which had its grand opening on December 3rd.

In her art display, Reese used a variety of different canvases, medians, and subjects — whatever most spoke to her in the moment. “She’s not trying to appease anyone else,” commented Art Teacher Ms. Elizabeth Wepsic, who has been teaching Reese since her freshman year. “The exhibition reflects what Reese does outside of school through ocean imagery, designs on surfboards, and photographs of places she’s gone.”

“I was on the ground with the lion,” exclaims Reese, “it was incredibly cool.” This was on her first trip to Tanzania. “We were probably 80 feet away, and my dad and I quickly hopped out of the jeep with our guide and crouched down to get an eye-level shot.” During her two week trip, they drove six hours a day, out in the open, and their itinerary was full to the brim. SonSon Santiguel (‘26) deemed the piece to the right his favorite. “It’s very tough — very alpha.”

Reese had always enjoyed art, but in high school, she took her hobby to a different scale. She explained, “I moved away from the drawing exercises and started depicting things I’m passionate about.” In particular, Reese said she enjoyed creating “nature-based or outdoors-related pieces.” Ms. Wepsic noted that, in doing so, “she’s become more her own self-expressed artist.”

Reese’s dad is a wildlife photographer, so, she explained, “I get to go on a lot of his trips and play around with photos and cameras, and landscapes”. That’s how Reese is able to take close-up pictures of leopards, cheetahs, elephants, and lions. She’s been to Tanzania not once, but twice. In addition, “Every summer, my dad and I go on a small fishing boat in Alaska.” She took the photos of the seals there.
(Bex Keller-Carroll)

Throughout high school, art has been a constant in Reese’s life. “It’s been really nice to have a break in the day, to take time to express myself creatively,” Reese said. “Art is expanding how I push myself, not just academically but artistically, which has changed my approach to a lot of problems.”

“This is an angler-fish. It’s actually life-sized!” Reese said, the excitement rising in her voice. She continued, “It’s a deep-sea fish, kind of cool and spooky-looking, a little edgy.” Reese used charcoal in this piece to highlight the isolation and solitude of the subject. In all of Reese’s works, she was very intentional with her medium and the emotions she wanted to evoke.
(Bex Keller-Carroll)

On the flip side, creating art has come with several challenges. “I have no patience,” Reese joked. “And some of these pieces require so much patience, so it can be frustrating, especially when you mess up and it takes so long.” However, afterwards, Reese found the struggle to be worth the wait. She said, “There’s something really cool about a finished piece of art.”

Reese painted a simple yet intricate detailed ocean. Immediately, the delicacy and craftsmanship put into the piece were clear. Paige Meyers (‘26) appreciated the time and thought that went into the piece. She said, “The way Reese paints water is really calming.” Paige continued, “It looks ominous but cold at the same time.”

Luke Zierhut (‘29) admired the intentionality of each piece within Reese’s exhibition. “The photography really blended well with the artistry and the drawings to make a big splash of color and beauty,” he said. “I felt like I was going down a maze of beauty. It really increased my awareness of the world.”

These three pieces were part of Reese’s honors portfolio submission. Her task was to ask herself a question and answer it through artwork. “My question was: ‘How can landscapes portray emotion?’ I used black and white because I thought color would be too variable and affect the emotion,” Reese said. “Each piece [from left to right] represents a different emotion — isolation, happiness, depression.” The contrast between the pieces is evident. (Bex Keller-Carroll)

Ms. Wepsic said, proudly, “Her exhibition is called The Art of Living, which is exactly who she is. If she wasn’t at school, she’d be out in nature.” Indeed, Reese channeled her love for nature into creating intricate, thoughtful pieces for her final collection, and has now shared her work for all Bishopians to admire. Reese’s exhibition closes on January 9th, 2026 — and it’s one you definitely don’t want to miss!

About the Contributor

Bex Keller-Carroll, Staff Writer

Bex is a freshman and is a first-year staff writer on The Tower. He entered Bishop’s in 6th grade and has loved every science class he has taken at Bishop’s. Bex’s second home is at Coast Volleyball Club, where he can be found nearly every day. Bex has played middle school volleyball all three years and is eager to play high school volleyball as the spring season approaches. On long breaks, Bex travels to Alaska, where he enjoys the company of his mom’s side of the family. He is excited to explore every aspect of journalism that the class offers and eager to see his final work published.

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