Seoyeon Kim, a senior at NVOT, has a talent that shouldn’t go unnoticed. Kim’s shares her thoughts and experiences through one thing: art. 

She said, “I’ve always loved art since I was young, but I only started taking it seriously and doing actual pieces starting 8th grade. Since then, I’ve entered into and received awards from many art competitions. My art pieces usually tend to revolve around what life is to me, or how I experience life, which means there is a lot of variation in my pieces.”

Art teacher Celia Gollub said, “[She is] one of the most amazing students I’ve had in years. When she showed me art over summer I thought I was looking at a photo; real thing. It’s been years since I’ve had her a student but she still reaches out to me and tells me about her accomplishments.” 

Kim’s interest in art sparked with the interest of getting all her emotions out in a drawing. Most of her art is used to express her feelings. She said, “One of my pieces is a charcoal drawing of me and my friends, but another one of my pieces depicts the struggle in battling mental health issues.”

She draws inspiration for her art from artist Vincent van Gogh. “He was mentally unstable and his choice of subject in his paintings were not liked by the public at the time. He painted scenes of the ordinary; things like farmers working in the fields. This was why many disliked his work, but it is exactly why I love his work and take inspiration from them,” Kim said. 

Kim has been surrounded by many people during her art journey, yet one has been by her side since freshman year. Shine Lee said, “She influenced me to be a better artist because of her creativity in all of her pieces.” They also take art classes together outside of school. “We always talk about our next projects together,” said Lee. 

Although she is super talented, Kim has decided to keep this skill as a hobby. “Maybe I’ll minor in something art related, but for now it’s just something I enjoy doing,” Kim said.