Artist’s realism sets her apart

Junior Abigail Roach began art as a fun way to express herself and be creative

Alysha Stallings, Staff Reporter

Junior Abigail Roach enjoys making artistic portraits from photographs where the colors and the way the picture looks speak to her.

Her reason for starting art was simple.

“I started art because I wanted to find a way to be creative in school and have fun,”Roach said.

Roach finds some things enjoyable and rewarding when painting, but also experiences her share of frustrations, too.

“The challenging part is when I have to do a kind of art that I am bad at, but even though I’m bad at it, I still try my best,” Roach said.

While the other artists featured in this arts edition may pursue art as a part of a future career, Roach is still debating what role her art will take in the future.

“I’m not sure yet, but it will probably just be a hobby.”

And while Roach finds inspiration from the photography of others when she is selecting a subject to paint, she does not look to any artists in particular for inspiration.

“I don’t have any artist I really admire,” Roach said.

For the viewers of her works, Roach hopes that her, “artwork shows my creativeness and how I would like to express myself.”

Each subject brings a different kind of inspiration for Roach. She said that she seeks out photographs that, “speak to her personally.”

“It depends on what kind of work I’ll be working on.”

Roach has completed 30 works of art, but there isn’t one in particular that stands out as her personal favorite.

“Honestly, I am proud of all my work. I can’t just choose one,” Roach said.

Like any other artist, Roach hopes that he works create and emotional response in the viewer, and she hopes they enjoy her work.”

“I hope that others will like my work and feel like it is something special.”

The realism of Roach’s work often amazes her viewers and has captured the attention of her art teacher as well.

“I have had Abigail as a student for two years. She is very driven and talented. Abigail uses her time wisely, and she always ends up with great work. Her work is very detailed, and she has a very good eye for composition,” Carley White said.

According to White, the future could hold many different things for Abigail.

“Because Abigail is very adaptable, she could have many different jobs involving art. She is very open-minded/good at different kinds of art.”

The Forest Fire asked all three art teachers whose art stood out and was worthy to be profiled in this issue. White said, “I chose Abigail because of her drive and motivation to do well. Any work she does she gives it her best. Even if she is bad at some parts of art, she still tries her best and gives it 150 percent. Because she is unique and different.”