Siya Verma, a junior at HPHS, has been creating art for as long as she can remember. As she has grown, her art has evolved. Siya expresses that her current art “does not follow the rules.” She enjoys experimenting and utilizes a variety of mediums, including digital software, pencil, charcoal, and watercolor. “There will be days I do a lot of realism and then go into cartoons,” she says. Despite her wide range of drawing styles, Siya notes that her preferred drawing style is portraiture.
But why art? Siya describes the creative endeavor as an emotional outlet. “It’s a very calming thing. When you're stressed about something, you put it all into your art piece…Some people have an instrument or a TV show. I have art.”
Siya plans to go into computer animation or graphic design after high school, but she doesn’t feel pressured to have it all figured out yet. She indicates that high school has “made it difficult to find time for art,” but she always dedicates about an hour to drawing on weekends to hone her skills. “Sometimes I feel like, ‘Oh, I can't draw anything,’ or ‘Oh, I don't have the time.’” When these moments arise, Siya advises, “Just take a step back, you know, come back to it…You can find inspiration everywhere.”