Chloe Calilung, a sophomore at West Forsyth has always had a passion for art. Was awarded the gold key award and was chosen to be an Adams Outdoor Billboard artist. Most recently her passion for the subject has paid off, which allowed for her art to be shown on many platforms including the WSFCS home board.
Calilung plans on taking her art into college and possibly turning it into a career. “I haven’t settled on one solid career path yet, though I do plan on taking art with me wherever I go. I may opt for a more digital and applicable variation of art in college,” Calilung said. Calilung has been making art for years and has used it as a way of expression as she has grown up. “I’ve been doing art in school since second grade. I’ve always liked drawing as a hobby, but I only started learning about proper techniques when I was in second grade,” Calilung goes on to talk about the art classes she started in “My old private school had an (optional) art club available to students who wanted art classes, but then I moved and the new elementary school I started attending had mandatory art classes,” Calilung said.
Calilung gets her inspiration from the people around her, and relatives “My relatives and especially my parents inspired me to want to do art in school. They’ve always encouraged my artistic hobbies growing up. I grew up almost constantly surrounded by art because many of my relatives had formal, secondary education in the subject.”
Calilung expressed that many outside forces inspire her art that she creates in school. Her favorite art style is portraits because many of her friends and family inspire her as well. “My favorite type of art to do is portraits because I love capturing the emotions and the tiny details of their faces. I also am inspired by music I listen to. It helps me capture certain aspects in an art piece that would not have come to me if music wasn’t playing”
“ Covid had impacted my art this year” Calilung states after being asked about her art experience during 2020. “This year, I’ve had to be more independent and self-motivated. It’s a lot easier to get behind now in my art classes, but this year I’ve had to put in more work in my own time, which I’ve been struggling with. This year has taught me the importance of communicating with everyone and keeping my teachers updated.”
Calilung has a passion for art and gets inspiration from everything that is around her. And with this year being very difficult Calilung has done a great job creating art for herself and the school.