“I think there’s an artist hidden at the bottom of every single one of us.” – Bob Ross. 

Art can come in many shapes and forms, it can range from giant sculptures to intricately detailed drawings. It is a way of expressing oneself. Here at Bloomington South, we have many exceptional artists of our own creating unique and incredible art in their free time.

Senior Ada Lynch is an abstract painter. She uses acrylic and watercolor. She began experimenting with painting two years ago when she took a painting class here at South where the art form caught her interest.

“I was always interested in painting. I took a class at South and learned the basics, I didn’t know anything before. I like to do abstract painting because it doesn’t have to look like anything in particular. I use a warm-toned palette with some blues mixed in, I like a contrasting palette,” said Lynch. 

Although Lynch doesn’t see herself pursuing a career in art, she wants to keep painting as a hobby and continue to explore other mediums of art. Throughout her years at South she has taken several different fine art classes including printmaking and ceramics. She wants to try as many as possible.

Senior Bella Clemmer has been interested in photography ever since her freshman year when she took digital photography. Her favorite subjects to photograph are people, more specifically her sister, which she usually uses as her model. She says photographing animals are difficult because of the excessive movement. Clemmer has taken dark room photography, digital photography, and ceramics.

“In photography we get to choose some of our assignments, which I like,” Clemmer said. 

Some of her favorite assignments that she has completed include: reflective portraits, still lifes, portraits, and a conceptual assignment. 

Clemmer isn’t looking at photography as a career, but wants to keep it as a hobby. She would also like to try painting sometime in the near future. 

Senior Tabby Duvall has been involved in making art ever since she was a kid. She is a photographer, painter, and charcoal drawer. She likes to look at other famous artists for inspiration. Her drawing style used to be more on the realistic side but now she is gravitating towards a more minimalistic style.

“It’s a good way for me to calm down. It’s something I really enjoy,” said Duvall.

During her years at South she has taken digital photography, painting, and 2D art. Duvall wants to keep her art as just a hobby. In addition to her already diverse art palette, she wants to try sculpture sometime in the near future.

Junior Noor Al Risi paints with acrylic and draws digitally with the program Sketchbook. She mainly draws nature and cartoons. She started drawing at the young age of nine. 

“I stopped for a bit, but then I started up again when I was 12,” Al Risi said. 

She took 2D art at South which furthered her interest in art. In there she learned more about drawing. She still finds drawing faces and the style of realism challenging.

“I learned new techniques like shading,” Al Risi said. 

She also briefly experimented with oil pastels in her class. For now she is keeping her art as just a hobby, but she wants to possibly sell it in the future once she is out of school. In addition to drawing, she wants to work more with oil pastels in the future.

Senior Rachel Hosey is a dark room and digital photographer. Her interest began freshman year when she took dark room photography. Taking yearbook has also advanced her interest in photography. Her favorite subject to photograph are people. 

“You can capture a person’s essence in a photograph,” Hosey said. “I also like [photographing] animals because they’re so cute.”

In college she wants to take even more photography classes as electives and possibly try painting in the future. 

There are artists all around us: at our jobs, in our families, and in our schools. These people are always making the world a more creative place.