Hundreds of students on campus participate in art classes, usually, for a more leisure class period, but for senior Aarushi Ray, art is more than just a free period. Over the summer, Ray created a digital portrait study, Dandelion Wishes, for her college portfolio. Although this piece was meant to show off her skills, Ray had other reasons for creating this piece.

“I mentioned it before, where I said it was for my college portfolio to show my range, but it honestly was an experimental piece for me too,” Ray said. 

Thanks to the extra free time summer break brings, Ray was able to put more of her time into drawing.

“I don’t typically get the opportunity to draw such intensive pieces because they take so long. This one took about five days, with breaks of course,” Ray said.

With trying new things, come challenges, and creating Dandelion Wishes was no exception.

“Definitely blending a style that was realistic and colorful for the hair [was the most difficult],” Ray said. “I wanted to lean towards a realistic [style] over my usually much more cartoony style.”

However, this challenge was something Ray found enjoyable.

“Surprisingly [I loved] what I struggled with the most! I loved drawing the hair, especially the little details in the braids and the crown,” Ray said. “I think hair can express a lot about a person, so I utilize it, especially in my artwork and style of drawing. I think that’s one of the most consistent features in my art.”

Even though the piece was a chance to try something new, Ray stuck with a color palette that she was familiar with.

“I tend to work better with cooler colors. Though this was an experimental piece, I definitely did not want to overwhelm myself and end up not being happy with the art piece at the end, so I stuck to colors I was familiar with.”

However, she was still able to experiment with different, less traditional color combinations.

“You’ll realize her skin is quite pigmented, incorporating blues, pinks, and even some yellow greens. I settled for that color scheme because the purpose of my art wasn’t to recapture a moment in reality perfectly, but to replicate the feeling a memory has in [the] picture,” Ray said.