From a young age, Mathew Dickman was always captivated by art. But it was his Digital Art skills that allowed Dickman to leave his mark on Amador Valley.

“When he was in my digital art class, I knew he was really good. He’s done so many incredible designs that we use at Amador. We’ll be using his designs for school projects for the next decade,” said Media Arts Teacher Wendy Connelly. 

Matthew began his journey as a digital artist after taking the Digital Art class with Ms. Connelly. He continued to work alongside Ms. Connelly in the Advanced Journalism class,  creating designs for the program and school, honing his skills and developing his own unique style.

Matthew has created several pieces of work, such as Amador’s 2022 planner cover and the 2023 AVJournalism logo. He’s also created a new digital version of the

school mascot. 

He demonstrated his proficiency in design, outshining his peers to have his artwork chosen for projects all over school. 

“It was really fun and interesting to design, especially for the school, different posters and logos we were assigned to. I loved it when we got to design the planner and I was excited when mine won the student vote,” said Matthew Dickman (‘23). 

Matthew’s love for design started in middle school and has only continued to grow as he has.

Despite this being his last year at Amador, balancing schoolwork and extra activities, Matthew’s dedication to his craft is undeniable.

 “Design has affected my life. As I approach graduation, it’s clear that my passion for art has only grown stronger because I am more critical and I analyze things I see like advertisements and posters. I either take notes on how someone was able to display something effectively or in a visually interesting way, and I’m now able to criticize the techniques they use,” said Dickman.

From his time in Digital Art to his current enrollment in AP Studio Art, Matthew is known to keep to himself and let his teachers understand him through his art.

“Matthew is quiet, so he lets his work speak for himself. Matthew is a natural storyteller using visual imagery and loves to tell a story layering in detail. When he does that, that’s when his true voice comes out,” said Art Teacher Mr. Doyle.

As Mathew Dickman approaches graduation, he knows this is the only beginning for his artistic career. 

“I’ve even applied to graphic design colleges and I’ll see where this takes me,” said Dickman.