By Sophie Johnson, Social Media Editor
The fresh smell of a new box of crayons, wax under your nails and the terrifying feeling of the crayon breaking in your grip. You ask your preschool teacher for a new pink crayon so you can finish the flower you’ve drawn on your construction paper.
Junior Eliza Cowan has been painting and drawing ever since she was in preschool and continued to take art through school and in her free time.
“I have to say she’s naturally gifted to start with,” art teacher Alice Baldwin said. “But she’s learned to hone her skill and take her time and really make her already pleasant composition shine with her technique.”
Cowan’s love for art sprouted at a young age, but ninth grade is when her passion for art took off.
“Since freshman year I’ve gotten way better at art and I’ve learned new techniques through the classes and just how to fix my mistakes,” Cowan said.
She is currently taking Baldwin’s Art III class and has to put a lot of effort into her artwork, preparing her for AP Art next year.
“If I create something it probably has a good meaning behind it,” Cowan said. “I want people to try and figure out what I’m saying.”
Cowan’s art is mainly based on plants and animals because it’s so unpredictable and can be manipulated in drawings. Sometimes there can be multiple meanings to an art piece, but only the artist knows the true meaning. This is especially so when working with watercolors – the meaning behind the artwork doesn’t always stand out.
“I mostly use watercolor because you don’t have to be as detailed with it, or you can be detailed with it,” Cowan said. “Whereas acrylic you have to be really skilled or put a lot of time into it.”
Watercolor is her favored medium, but she also enjoys photography, acrylics and sculpture. She hopes to learn more about graphic design as well. One of Cowan’s favorite pieces of art she created was a sculpture that won an award at the Dare County art show.
“My freshman year we did a sculpture project with cardboard and it had to relate to a famous artist’s artwork,” Cowan said. “I did it based on ballerina painting and I liked it a lot. I knew what I wanted it to look like.”
Hard work definitely pays off in the end for something that you worked diligently on and put your time into. Cowan has had a piece in every art show since she was a freshman.
“She’s always so cute in the art shows. Her and her friends come and they support her and they take their time and look through,” Baldwin said with a smile. “I can always count on Eliza to come to an art show and hang out. It’s always fun.”
The most rewarding part to Cowan isn’t about winning the awards. It’s more of a personal accomplishment.
“My favorite part is when I put a lot of time into it and then it’s finished and I’m done and it looks really good,” Cowan said.
Senior Sophie Johnson can be reached at johnsonso0628@daretolearn.org.
