My medium for these submissions is just color pencil. I really just try to look at the things around me and the emotions inside me for inspiration. For the dog, I tried to reflect a human kind of longing in his expression–he is dreaming of the red string, and yet he looks wistful and longing of something from the past. I feel like animals are really our natural counterparts and so tried to mirror a human emotion in his eyes. This was connected to my self-portrait, which portrays me looking towards the future while thinking of the past. For the shells I just really loved the curves and shapes they formed together and tried to convey the sound of the ocean through the image. I thought the color blue would be a fitting theme for the nostalgic, wistful feel I wanted. My creative process isn’t really a process; it’s just picking and choosing from certain experiences and things I’m lucky enough to witness to try and piece together an emotion or message. I’ve loved art for as long as I can remember, ever since my first art class at five years old. It’s something I hope to keep doing for the rest of my life.
Amelia Ao lives in Wayland, Massachusetts with her parents and sister. Art has been a fundamental part of her identity, and she’s excited to be sharing her work.