Behind the Brush: young artist featured in Micro Gallery

Sydney Martin is involved in the art program at Loudoun County High School. To those who know her this is no surprise, as the junior has been creating since sixth grade.

“At first I was obsessed with drawing eyes, and from there, faces,” Martin said.

Martin has been creating since she was 12 and has been making major improvements ever since.

“I first realized Sydney had a ton of potential way back in Art 1, when she drew an amazing pencil portrait of her favorite author,” Stephanie Woshner, Art Teacher and Artist said.

With five years under Marin’s belt she is still having a hard time knowing what theme and style fits her and represents her art best.

According to Woshner, art classes in ninth and tenth grade lean toward representational and realistic, where students are learning technique and developing a style. This year Martin has transitioned into a more surreal, abstract style which I LOVE,” Woshner said. “It is very unique and much her own.”

Woshner, Martin’s art teacher of three years, has seen Martin develop and learn multiple styles and themes. Woshner believes that Martin has a great amount of potential and has been a key factor in developing Marin’s love for art and for her own style.

“I strongly look up to El Greco and David Foster Wallace,” Martin said. “El greco’s dreamy realism has a quality of seamlessness which I hope to obtain one day. David Foster Wallace wrote with the detail I try to include in my paintings, and made familiar topics into deep and chaotic theories that cause the audience to think beyond the surface they are presented with.”

Martin’s passion for art and creativity has led her to think about her plans for the future.

“I have no certain colleges in mind for art, all I know is that a place that happens to be warm year round would help me stay motivated to create my best work.”

Martin hopes to make it big one day as an artist and hopes to be recognized and she wants to be able to sell her work to the world.

“In ten years I see myself making commissioned oil paintings with an atomic level of detail and mastery that I will have absorbed from my years at college majoring in fine arts/ painting!”

Woshner is ecstatic on watching how Martin does these next few years and is excited to make major progress and strives in college to be the best artist she can be.

“She is no longer timid or shy in her work,” Woshner said. “She is making her art for herself and no one else – that is a huge jump for an artist.”

“My goals with art is to develop a voice through my work, one that is perceived through interpretation but heard loudly by whomever the audience may be,” Martin said.