Overview of Visual Arts at Pinnacle High School:
The Pinnacle High School visual arts program is one of the finest in the state. This department offers drawing, painting, photography, ceramics I, ceramics II, studio art and culture and advanced art courses. The sequence of these courses begins with the building of foundational skills in both two dimensional and three dimensional media. The next set of courses teaches in-depth techniques and allows students to master the vocabulary and methods introduced in the first year. In our most advanced courses, students engage with historic and contemporary art and create original, professional-quality work. In this manner, by the end of four years of instruction, our students have knowledge and skill in the visual arts that rivals many college-level art students.
High school art students also benefit from the enriching experiences of field trips and presentations from college recruiters. Each year, we take students to local art museums, art exhibitions, college campuses and other visual arts destinations. These field trips inspire creativity and motivation in our classes. Additionally, college representatives present to the high school visual arts students about lucrative and high-demand careers in the arts and the degree programs that will take students to those outcomes. These presentations lend relevance to our coursework and help our students make viable plans for the future.
Artwork produced by Pinnacle High School students has been awarded by the Scholastic Art Exhibition, the Colorado Department of Education office of cultural and linguistic diversity, and the CSI magazine cover contest. Many of our students have gone on to have successful careers in the arts. Beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, some of our courses will be certified at Career and Technical Education courses by the CDE and will prepare our students for careers such as Technical Illustrator, Arts Administrator, Freelance Photographer, Graphic Designer, Multi-media specialist, Museum Educator, Product Designer, Architect, Art Restoration Specialist, Web Designer, Gallery Curator, Art Therapist, Fine Arts Appraiser, Animator, Fashion and Visual Merchandising, and Interior Design.
If you are interested in learning more about the visual arts opportunities offered at Pinnacle High School please contact us at [email protected] , [email protected] , and [email protected]
Here's the latest news from the High School Art Department:

2021 Art Show
The high school art department is proud to share the 2020-2021 art show. Mrs. Hahn and I have worked extremely hard with our juniors and a select group of seniors to teach them the foundations of graphic design. This art show displays two semesters of their hard work and dedication in learning how to create art on a computer with over 150 design pieces ranging from advertisements to concert posters.
Please join me in celebrating our Pinnacle Art students!
Scholastic Art Awards
Pinnacle High School Students earned a total of 10 awards this year in state-wide, juried competition. The Scholastic Art Awards are very prestigious and this year, our winners include 8 Gold Key recipients, which is the highest honor awarded at the state level. See this year's winning work below!
Kamryn Jackson/Painting/Gold Key
Kevin Bui/Photography/Gold Key
Natalie Guereca/Photography/Silver Key
Justin Mendoza/Photography/Gold Key
Tania Reyes/Photography/Gold Key
Giovani Medina/Photography/Gold Key
Karina Stunkel/Photography/Gold Key
Makayla Taylor/Photography/Gold Key AND Honorable mention
Mariah Vargas/Photography/Gold Key
PHS art teachers are extremely excited to announce the 2019 high school art show winners for our 2-d category. This category includes artwork such as; graphite drawings, acrylic paintings, watercolors, ink, colored pencil drawings and oil paintings. We had two hundred and fifty 2-dimensional pieces to choose from. We would like to give a huge shout out to our judges; high school teachers Patrick O'Donnell, Stephanie Morse, Brent Sherry, Lydia Gibson, Paul Bremer, and former Pinnacle alumni Dani Rascon and Samantha Menzor. Jessica LaMere, Tom Prest and Laura Hahn are extremely proud of our growing our Pinnacle artists!
Best of Show
Self-Portrait
by Ruth Alvarez, 11th Grade
Graphite
1st Place
Subdermal
by Kamryn Jackson, 11th Grade
Acrylic Paint
2nd Place
Intertwined Prosperity
by Valeria Martinez, 12th Grade
Acrylic Paint
3rd Place
Kinetic Hope
by Jessica White, 12th Grade
Colored Pencil
Honorable Mention
Real Eyes, Realize, Real Lies
by Litzy Corral, 12th Grade
Acrylic Paint
Honorable Mention
Asmeda
by Jordan Dewey, 12th Grade
Acrylic Paint
Honorable Mention
A Cameo in Death
by Makenna Watson, 12th Grade
Acrylic Paint
Honorable Mention
Never Needed No Help
by Marlon Meza, 12th Grade
Oil Paint
Honorable Mention
Beautiful Promise
by Lesley Lujan, 12th Grade
Graphite
This year there were 172 3-dimensional pieces entered into the art show, this category includes ceramic pieces, paper sculptures, book art etc...below are the winners.
Best of Show
Submerged
by Isabella Samaniego
Ceramics
1st Place
Mawang
by Abril Garcia, 11th Grade
Ceramics
2nd Place
Semblance of the Sweet
by Dania Herrera, 11th Grade
Ceramics
3rd Place
Luminary
by Ailen Holguin, 12th Grade
Ceramics
Honorable Mention
Bad Habit
by Keinana Quitagua, 11th Grade
Ceramics and Acrylic Paint
Honorable Mention
Babylon
by Diamond Fernandez Duke, 11th Grade
Ceramics
Honorable Mention
Tihaj
by Lexus Gowda, 12th Grade
Ceramics
Honorable Mention
June
by Jacqueline Ledezma Diaz, 12th Grade
Mixed Media
Honorable Mention
Interpretation of a Friend of Order
by Jennifer Nguyen, 10th Grade
Ceramic and Acrylic Paint