By Abby Whelan ’14, Arts &Entertainment Staff Writer

As everyone gets back into the swing of the new school year, many people in our community have noticed beautiful new artwork being displayed in the hallways, the cafeteria, and outside of the arts classrooms. The artists? The junior and senior IB visual art classes, and amidst this select group of talented artists? Michelle Peng: senior IB artist, and this month’s spotlight painter.

Michelle has been creating art since the young age of six years old, attending art classes both in school and outside of school. With 11 years of experience under her belt, Michelle’s dedication to her passion has most definitely paid off. Most recently, she has been published in an art anthology through the Celebrating Art Competition for her acrylic painting called “The Way I see It”, a colorful, uniquely styled piece.

When asked about what medium she likes to use for her artwork, Michelle stated, “My favorite medium is acrylic paint. I’ve learned how to manipulate it to the way I want it to look. I also love how it can be transparent or opaque and how quickly it dries.” However she is also experienced in watercolors, oil paints, and photography. More recently she has begun working 3-dimensionally with wire.

Michelle’s inspiration for her artwork has come from both her own experiences and other resources. She specified, “My inspiration comes from anything from other artists to TV shows. Ideas will come to me whenever something sparks my interest whether it be while I’m traveling or just watching TV.”  While discussing inspiration, she mentioned that the IB program guidelines themselves do help her to gain more inspiration because the program “gives artists an opportunity to learn more about other artists, world issues, and the history of art”.  Her one criticism, however, was about technique. While she remained complementary, she also stated, “I wish the program focused more on technique rather than conceptual thinking because as a high school student, I would love to improve my skills so I can better execute concepts later on in my artistic career.” Michelle hopes to continue her artwork at an even more advanced level in college.

From acrylics to wire to photography to sketches, senior Michelle Peng seems to do it all. As the year continues to roll on, make sure to keep an eye out for more masterpieces from this edition’s spotlight artist!