For Kibler, drawing is his passion

By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
    Hearing that he is an art phenomenon makes Avery Kibler of Houlton uncomfortable.
    “Everyone has been saying I am like a prodigy,” he explained. “But, I’ve been kind of worrying about that. It feels like quite a bit of pressure. I just want to take my artwork one step at a time, learning one thing after the next.”
    Kibler’s artwork envelops intricacy, fine details and skill beyond many a 17-year-olds’ hand.
    “Most of my life I have been drawing, not as much as I have been in the last few years,” he explained. “But this year, it really exploded. I don’t know why.”
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Gloria Austin
BUDDING ARTIST — Avery Kibler, a 17-year-old student at Houlton High School, is also a budding artist whos work has been shown at Visions Gallery
    Kibler’s artwork was scattered through the Houlton Pioneer Times Newspaper In Education special supplement, along with being exhibited at the Blue Moon Gallery.
    Though he doesn’t feel he has “arrived” with his artwork, Kibler said, “I am still working towards that, but I definitely have a few that I am proud of.”
    One of Kibler’s favorite pieces is a pencil-sketch of the inner city during the 1930s. It is a cityscape depicting the times and the focus of the drawing is a boy sitting alone on the curb with a coat over his shoulder.
    Sketching for Kibler is an emotional release. With his 1930s city sketch, he started off with the basic scenery, knowing he wanted the boy on curb since that was what he wanted to give away in the drawing. Then he came up with buildings and backgrounds and went from there with it.
    “It makes me feel amazing that I can do it,” he said. “For me, it kind of is a way for me to get my emotions on paper, especially the inner-city one, I put a lot of heart into it.”
    Kibler believes his artistic talent comes from his father’s side of the family.
    “Both my sisters can draw,” he said. “They both are pretty good at it too. But, I have really exploded with it, which they haven’t done.”
    Kibler attributes his breakout to his art teacher Bonnie Tidd.
    “She told me to increase my value by pressing harder down on the pencil,” he explained. “That is what really exploded my art this year. It helped me realize a whole other aspect that I never really used.”
    Kibler, who has doodled since he was a toddler, says he feels as if the art for him has developed over the years.
    “But, in other people’s eyes, they say it’s natural,” he added.
    Staying within the pencil graphite medium, Kibler looks toward a career with his artwork.
    “I never quite really had the money to pay for all the acrylic and oil paints, along with the canvasses, so it is just kind of what I picked up,” he said. “I’ve looked toward the Rhode Island School of Design. I would love to go there for illustrating.”
    Originally from Portland, Kibler moved to Houlton the summer between his eighth grade and freshman year. He will be a senior this year at Houlton High School. He is a goalie for the Houlton-Hodgdon Black Hawks cooperative hockey team, as well as playing varsity soccer and varsity tennis. Kibler holds a part-time job at McDonalds.
    “I can draw whatever I want for the most part, but it definitely helps being in the mood,” he said. “I am going with the flow. It would be good if it [artwork] were actually something that would pay the bills and keep me somewhere stable.”
    Kibler’s pieces can be seen by contacting him at kiblerartworks@hotmail.com.