BAY MINETTE, Ala.  — There’s no question Pamela Coffman’s Art II students are talented, but what impresses the Bay Minette Middle School teacher the most is the emotion they channel into every project.

It should come as no surprise, then, that two of her eighth-grade students, Brooke and Breanna Earls, placed first during the recent district Visual Arts Achievement program and juried art show sponsored by the Alabama State Council on the Arts.

The Earls sisters, who are actually two-third of a set of triplets, will advance to the state-level competition and have their artwork exhibited in the council’s professional artist gallery in Montgomery from April 7-29.

Coffman said Brooke Earls’ painting of a horse, titled “A Child’s Heart,” embodied the “unbroken spirit” theme with ease and flair.

“Brooke is very expressionist. She can go out on a limb and be very abstract, and this painting is just one example of her tremendous talent,” Coffman said.

By comparison, Coffman described Breanna Earls’ style as incredibly introspective, and that’s why her intricate painting of an owl, called “Silent Beauty,” spoke so strongly to the judges.

Skyler Wagner, another of Coffman’s Art II students, placed third during the district competition with his painting, “Cheetah Cheetah.”

In addition, students Lori Norwood and DiAnton White also competed with a self-portrait titled “Thoughtful Spirit” and a mixed-media sculpture of a large wooden king snake respectively.

Baldwin County is joined by Clarke, Conecuh, Escambia, Mobile, Monroe and Washington counties in the council’s District 1.

Meanwhile, students Amber Bowden and Lauren Quinley represented BMMS during the Mobile Museum of Art’s recent Youth Art Month festivities.

Two additional students from Bay Minette represented their school in the show Lori Norwood’s painting titled “Thoughtful Spirit” a self-portrait and DiAnton White with his large wood sculpture of a King Snake mixed media.

To say Coffman is enthusiastic about her students’ accomplishments is more than an understatement.

“I so love these children,” Coffman said. “They work so hard and have such talent, and it’s just ingrained in all of them. It’s such a joy to watch them develop as artists and find that individual style that really speaks about who they are as people.”

The Visual Arts Achievement Program is “very prestigious and highly competitive,” she said, providing local and state recognition for student achievement in the visual arts. The program is designed to offer encouragement to young artists, showcase their work and offer opportunities via scholarships for advanced training beyond high school.