A trip to the principal’s office in first grade might have been the catalyst that pushed Dennis Ziemienski toward art. When he drew a full wine glass next to a bottle, his principal called his parents in for two reasons: One, he worried Ziemienski might be “imbibing” at home, given the adult subject matter. Two, the principal, who was also an artist, noticed that the child had correctly drawn the top of his wine glass as an ellipse. The kid could already render complex visual perspectives instead of simple outlines.
“Let this kid go into art, because he has some talent,” the principal told Ziemienski’s parents.
That singular event gave his parents the permission to encourage him toward art, a direction from which they never swayed. Nor did their son.
“I’ve always been an artist,” Ziemienski says. “When I was a kid, I thought maybe I should be a fireman or something else, but I’ve always loved drawing pictures and painting and making narrative work.”
Read the full article in the July/August 2026 issue.
Lost
oil
72″ by 62″
Fine Cars
oil
36″ by 48″
