Sometimes, you just need to press that undo button.
For freshman Lyla Kelly, this feature is both a blessing and a challenge in her digital art process.
Creating art digitally has allowed Kelly to connect with her friends and interests uniquely. It also offers her a chance to refine her artistic techniques.
“The thing I most enjoy about digital art is the fact that I can repeat one series of motions over and over again,” Kelly said. “The undo button is extremely helpful, but it has hindered my traditional art process. I have been trying to eliminate that, but it has helped me explore color and different shapes and faces.”
Kelly’s interest in digital art began during the COVID pandemic when she got an iPad for her sixth-grade birthday. Since then, her skills have developed greatly from her first time picking up a stylus.
“When going digital, you have a tendency to just draw a line and then undo it. I’ve tried to eliminate that from my art process, because it creates a smoother portrait, and it captures it better,” Kelly said.
Ms. Jennifer Rodgers taught Kelly in Art 1 and was able to see how her traditional and digital artwork overlap.
“The skills that she learned in Art 1 translate really well into the digital work that she does, specifically how she shades things with value and how she works with color,” Rodgers said.
Kelly took the initiative to explore art further through applying for the George H. Slick Fellowship and Grant, where she put together a portfolio of pieces that she was proud of. She was announced as the recipient of the grant during 2025 fellow Sam Sentivan’s concert on May 31.
“One of the hardest pieces I did for the Slick was two self-portraits,” Kelly said. “That was an interesting reflection on me as an artist, and it was interesting to see my art through another person’s perspective.”
She also used the George Slick application as an opportunity to explain the digital portraits she made of her friends as part of her “Name Project.” A noteworthy piece in this collection features freshman Lorelei Karn and is titled “Die Lorelei.”
“[Lyla] sent me a screenshot of her draft, and it was a drawing of me with a really sweet description. She incorporated the origin of my name, which is low-key impressive because it comes from an old German fable about sirens,” Karn said.
As a primarily digital artist, Kelly is constantly exposed to different perspectives regarding digital art.
“In the art community, for some reason, there is a stigma against digital art,” Kelly said. “They often see it as an AI issue or as something more than what it is, and it is just art. And while yes, I did trace, it helped me learn. That doesn’t reflect badly on my art just because it’s digital.”
Despite the challenges that surround Kelly’s form of expression, she continues to find the motivation to create.
“What really inspires me is the deeper meaning of things, but especially people. It’s about how art reflects the world and how the reflection of the world reflects the world again,” Kelly said.
Being an artist in any form is no easy feat, but through her work, Kelly has proven that the right amount of confidence can make it achievable.
“Start coloring and stop relying on the undo button. As I’ve tried to transition my art to the traditional art world, it’s been a lot harder because I always want to undo it,” Kelly said. “You have to become confident in your mistakes, because most of the time, they aren’t mistakes. They are just what you see. What you see isn’t always a mistake, so just embrace it.”
