At what age did you discover that you enjoyed doing art?

“I found a picture of myself drawing at a table when I was 3 years old, so I think I’ve been doing it forever, whether it was just me scribbling or drawing what I saw from DVD covers.”

What is your favorite art medium?

“I love using graphite because I make hyper-realism pieces with them, and recently I’ve been using paints to draw portraits.”

Who is your favorite artist? Is there a reason why?

“Andy Warhol is probably one of my favorites because he did pop art, like the famous soup cans and Marilyn shots. I could never imagine myself doing that, and that’s why I love it so much. You don’t see those kinds of paintings that become that popular a lot.”

What is your favorite part about the art program at Nazareth?

“My favorite part is just being able to do any kind of art that I want to. I don’t have to follow specific projects and just freely do what I want to do in art, and no one will judge me for it. Everyone gets hyped up and excited when a person gets done working on their piece. It’s very positive, and everyone gives advice, and it’s my most peaceful class of the year.”

What is your advice to any future art major at Nazareth?

“Don’t stress about anything in art. There aren’t strict deadlines in art, so don’t worry about something being “not good enough” because I promise everyone will love it, and I will personally hype you up. I get artist block or stressed something won’t turn out well, but once Mrs. Shaw or other classmates reassure me and sometimes point out things that I didn’t even notice, it makes me feel more confident.”

What is the best part about being an artist?

“The best part is the outcome of whatever you make. The process of drawing or sculpting or whatever can be tiring and sometimes annoying when you aren’t feeling it. But in the end, when you do something that finally brings it all together, and it’s what you imagined to look in your head, you immediately feel proud. And then you can show it off and hang it up. It’s like a reward after all that hard work.”

This article originally appeared in the October 2021 edition of The Nazareth, Volume XCIIII, No. 1.