A disarray of pencils, a mess of eraser shavings, and graphite covered fingertips  annoyingly leave marks on the work in progress is the image sophomore Stephanie Flores shared regarding the process of creating her art, which is on display between the downstairs orange and yellow wing. The art on show, the majority of it graphite on paper, Flores completed in her Art Foundations along with Drawing and Design courses last semester. 

“My favorite is the Playboi Carti one,” Flores said, referring to the monochromatic portrait of the rapper, which is made to stand out with a vibrant background. “He’s just one of my favorite artists,” she explained. 

Flores likes how he can put different music and vocal styles together, giving his album Whole Lotta Red as an example, which is a mix of alternative/punk rock and rap. 

Flores’ works were selected by her Drawing and Design teacher Benjamin Wittwer, who was shown some of her works from Art Foundations by art teacher Robin Trueman.

 “She showed me a couple examples of students that were high achieving, and I immediately knew which one was Stephanie’s because I had her in class,” he said. Wittwer spoke highly of her and the efforts she has put forth in both her classes. 

Her preferred medium to work with is pencil on paper, while paint is least preferred. She especially expressed some grievances against acrylic paint, and said the piece she least liked is the small landscape painting. 

“In my class, what she excels in is realism,” said Wittwer, agreeing that graphite is indeed her forte, but he said she’s still strong in other mediums. Realism is an art style which involves close observation of a subject matter to portray them as they are. 

Flores was inspired to take interest in art because of her older cousin. When she was younger, her cousin lived with her, and whenever she went into her room, she’d always be working on pencil drawings.

“I would watch her draw and ask her to teach me,” Flores said. Her cousin also let her use some of her art supplies and helped Flores with her art. “You could say it was a way of bonding,” said Flores. Even now, she asks her cousin for advice (with her art) once in a while. 

Due to identifying as both Black and Mexican, Flores said her racial identity allows her to more comfortably depict a diverse range of people in her works. She said she mainly likes portraying music artists but also draws her family members.

“Sometimes I draw animals but I’m not very good at it,” Flores said. 

Although she isn’t thinking about pursuing a career in traditional art, Flores would prefer an art related future job.