For senior Audrey Sill, her creativity can be seen in each of her artistic ‘moods.’ Through this spur-of-the-moment inspiration, she connects with her favorite medium of graphite, specifically when drawing faces.

“I find inspiration from pictures of people,” Sill said. “I like people who have more unique features, or when there’s a lot of expression on someone’s face.”

According to Sill’s friend and fellow art student senior Julia Smirnova, Sill’s sketches are where you can really see her style shine through.

“She’s really good at sketching faces and making it look like the person that she’s trying to sketch,” Smirnova said. “She’s good at shading and there’s a kind of style throughout all of her sketches.”

Sill first started learning how to draw faces with the help of art books, which would break down how to draw a face step by step. However, she started drawing long before that.

“We would have this time where we would draw a picture and then journal,” Sill recalled from her preschool days. “All of the girls would draw My Little Ponies, because we loved playing with them. I just remember spending an hour on the drawing part, and then on the journal part, I would spend five minutes.”

While at Haven, Sill has taken a handful of art classes, learning more about art techniques.

“I learned a lot more about color theory, which I really liked, because I wasn’t getting that when I was just drawing on my own,” Sill said. “I think it really pushed me to try more color, which I love.”

Art teacher Mrs. Jennifer Rodgers spoke to Sill’s strengths as an artist.

“She takes her time with everything. Everything is done with intention,” Rodgers said. “She has a clear intention of what she wants to make, and she works well with a lot of different materials.”

In Rodgers’ Art 3 class last year, Sill made a painting that really stood out to her.

“The project was to find a collection of objects, or an area of our house and capture it with just black and white,” Sill said. “So I did that. I [painted] my record player, because I really love music.”

Sill prefers to draw while listening to quiet music, bands like The Marias. She describes her style as being semi-realistic, and she enjoys seeing other artists’ work.

“Every time I go to an art museum, I always feel really inspired,” Sill said. “Or sometimes I’m scrolling on Tiktok and I see someone drawing something. I feel like it’s really other art that inspires [me].”

The work of Carravaggio, a famous Italian painter from the 16th century, brings this inspiration to Sill.

“[Carravaggio] does those dark, dramatic paintings, and I think it’s so cool,” Sill said. “He plays with lighting. I really admire that, and I want to get better at it.”

Sill believes in improving skills through practice, especially as an artist.

“I feel like some people have this idea that you’re either born with talent as an artist, or you’re not, but I think all you really need to become a good artist is passion and love for it,” Sill said. “Everyone gets better with practice.”