Senior Aristides Reyes Ochoa Has a Gift

Aristides Reyes Ochoa has a gift. The Huntington High School senior has the eye, hand and creativity of a very fine artist. He is one of the best students in art teacher Kasmira Mohanty’s Advanced Digital Design and Illustration course.

Mr. Reyes’ most recent work is a piece he titled “Lunar Night.” It was inspired by Berenice Abbott's “Magnetic Field.”

“This piece immediately captured my attention because of its simplicity, while still standing out among other works,” Mr. Reyes said. “The strong contrast between light and dark in Abbott's photograph became a central influence in the development of my own piece.”

Academically, Mr. Reyes is a solid student, earning good grades across the board. But he really shines in art.

“In creating ‘Lunar Night,’ I used Photoshop as my primary tool for illustration,” Mr. Reyes wrote in an artist’s statement. “I incorporated repeated line work and cross-hatching to emphasize shadowed areas and to create depth through texture rather than color. This approach allowed me to explore tonal contrast in a way that echoes the visual impact of the original inspiration while maintaining my own artistic style.”

The teenager said “to further enhance the composition, I added a paper texture to the digital illustration. This choice was intentional, as it helped create the appearance of a hand-sketched drawing, bridging the gap between traditional and digital techniques. The texture softens the digital precision of the lines and contributes to a more organic, tactile quality.”

Mr. Reyes believes the finished artwork “successfully reflects” his original vision. “The balance between simplicity and detail, as well as the thoughtful use of contrast and texture, allowed me to create a piece that feels both refined and expressive,” he wrote in the artist’s statement.