He’s not even a high school graduate, but Old Regional Rochester senior Joseph “Jed” Dupree is being mentioned in the same sentence as Stephen King, Andy Warhol and Sylvia Plath.
Dupree, an artist since Kindergarten, submitted paintings to the prestigious Scholastic Art Awards at Tufts University. Two of his paintings received top honors — the Gold Key Award. There were more than 7,000 entries, but only 5% received the Gold Key honor, according to a written release.
Dupree said when his dad first showed him a comic book in Kindergarten, he began drawing Daredevil pictures and found his passion for art shortly thereafter. By Grade 6, Dupree had begun working with private art tutor Andy Anderson. One of Dupree’s pieces was created at Anderson’s studio.
The first, a painting of a ribcage, was made in teacher Kate Butler’s Advanced Placement Art class. The other, an oil painting of a sickle hanging above a goat, was made in Anderson’s studio.
Both Dupree and Butler were thinking of entering the Emerging Artists contest, but they chose the more prestigious Scholastic Art Awards, which honor creative teens — including King, Warhol, Plath and Truman Capote when they were in high school.
Dupree and Butler talked about this rare honor.
“It was a treat to have him as a student in class and see him grow as an artist and creative thinker,” said Butler, who described Dupree’s achievement as a David and Goliath type battle.
Dupree comes from a small school district with a small art department. Some school art departments, especially in Boston and surrounding suburbs, are bigger and draw more funding. Butler, who lives in the Tri-Town area, has known Jed for many years before he entered high school.
Butler and Dupree were recently interviewed together, and Dupree remained humble about the honor. He raved about his peers, all members of an advanced art class that requires prerequisite work before entry. He touched upon how he still wants to grow as an artist and how his art can be formulated within this digital and computer age.
“I want to get better at that (computer art) and market my work through the digital age I’m in and maybe learn some graphic design,” he said.
Dupree plans to attend the MASS College of Art in the fall.
By Jeffrey D. Wagner