Shadow Ridge High School offers many opportunities to develop a student’s artistic side. The school offers art, painting, drawing, and ceramic classes. Sophomore, Audrey Davis, takes AP Drawing and Painting I. Her skills amaze all of her teachers and impress students with how realistic she is able to portray someone. Art is a family thing for her and she has been learning it her entire life. 

Art is divided into many categories. There is drawing, painting, and sculpture. There are also many materials to create art including, paint, watercolor, and charcoal. Davis’ favorite type of art is drawing with a basic pencil. It gives her the capacity to work on shades and textures without needing many colors. It’s also easier if she wants to do a quick draw without having any materials around. 

“My favorite thing to do has (and probably always will be) drawing with graphite pencils. To me, it’s much easier than working with color. It’s simple yet you can do so much with them – all you need is a pencil,” comments Davis. 

Art is a way to escape and to represent the world under the artist’s vision. Art is subjective and can take so many different forms. 

“My favorite thing about art is the joy it brings to others when they see it. I love giving drawings to people as gifts, it’s a wonderful feeling to share your talents with the world in the best way possible,” explains Davis. 

But it’s always hard to make it someone’s work. They need to find people who can appreciate the art so that they can sell it and make a living off of it. Centuries ago, painters needed to find a man of the nobility to pay for their material and necessities, but Davis believes in her dreams and capacities. 

She tells, “That would definitely be the dream. I would love to be able to share my art in a more professional way and learn to become the best I can be.”

With the development of art and cinematography, it becomes way easier to live out art. Many companies, like Walt Disney, have become very popular but at their beginnings, no one believed in them. 

 “I’d always imagined myself working at Jim Henson Studios (creator of the Muppets) because it seems so fun and like such a creative and positive environment,” justifies Davis. 

Every artist has their own way to create a piece of art. Some have instructions, some get inspired by music they listened to, places they love, or food that transported them. 

“The process for me to create art usually starts off with an actor or character I admire and slowly morphs into how I want to portray them and which medium I would think is best for the portrait,” explains Davis. “I usually do it alone (occasionally with my sisters in my room to keep me company) and I always listen to music. Whatever I’m feeling at the time – rock, metal, musicals, and even boy bands! I feel more creative when I watch a YouTube video or see a movie that inspires me.” 

Artists used to be inspired by famous painters or places. Now, with social media, artists can be inspired by someone whose art is not in a museum and don’t need to see the art physically.

“My most recent inspiration is an artist’s videos on YouTube whose name is Scott Christian Sava. He mostly works in watercolor and was a major inspiration as I was learning to paint watercolor myself,” says Davis. 

Gallery • 5 Photos

Photo courtesy of: Audrey Davis

Drawing of Sal Vulcano from the TV series "Impractical Jokers." Sal Vulcano actually commented on this drawing on Audrey's art Instagram account.