SAN JOSE, CALIF.— Katie Nguyen, a senior at Silver Creek High School shares her breathtaking artwork and her love for art with the community.

Growing up in Los Angeles, California, Nguyen first started art at a young age, when she watched Shopkin’s YouTube videos and would copy the drawings of the collectibles onto a sheet of paper. Years later would take her first art class in seventh grade, beginning to get more serious with her art. 

Art became a safe haven for Nguyen, allowing her to express a variety of her art to her personal emotions she wasn’t able to put into words. This inspired her to make art given the slight chance that it might help someone out mentally through her art. “Art is something I am very grateful for. It is my escape from reality. When I do art, I feel like I am in my own separate world pouring all of my emotions and thoughts into an image. I do random doodles as well and they just help me relax and forget all of my stress for a bit,” says Nguyen.

For inspiration, she finds most of her ideas from social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest. As well as taking inspiration from those around her who are talented in art as well. “I see their artwork and I want to be just as good as them since I am still experienced in a lot of areas,”, she says. When making art, Nguyen feels a sense of freedom which she refers to as, “My escape from reality for a part of my day.” Aside from art, Nguyen loves dancing. Influenced by professional dancers on screen being happy doing what they loved, Nguyen began to dance as well. For her, dancing makes her happy and she views it as beautiful in the sense that emotions can be expressed through different kinds of dance styles. 

After high school, Nguyen plans to go to the Art Center College of Design and major in illustration. For now, she plans on taking as many art classes as she can to build up her portfolio and experience. In the future, she hopes to get a job where she is happy and can express her full potential by creating shows or movies. When asked what advice she would give to others wanting to pursue art she says, “If you really want to become better at art, you will need to practice a lot. I would recommend to find an art style that suits you so you could spend a lot of time perfecting it until you are satisfied.”