By Kristine Falck

Blessed with an array of talents, Amy Zhou is one of Collingwood’s amazing artists. Despite a steadfast penchant for music, which led her to receiving a diploma from the London College of Music for piano when she was just thirteen years old, Amy values her visual art endeavors. Her artistic portfolio encompasses a range of differing mediums: painting, portraiture, landscapes, 3D modeling, water coloring, pastel, ink, as well as pencil sketching.

Amy’s artistic inclination came from an early age. She noted that she first began when she was a mere three years old, having been enrolled in a weekly art class. Ever since then, art has played an integral part of her life. These days, despite a hectic schedule, Amy manages to devote much of her time to her artistic endeavors. As she expressed, “ I am currently enrolled in a portfolio program outside of school. Additionally I spend 3-4 hours a week painting under a mentor, partly for my portfolio, but partly as well because going there gives me time to just develop my painting techniques.” Amy is on her way to developing a professional artist’s portfolio, which boasts not only a range of artistic mediums but immense artistic ability. It is hence no surprise that one of her pieces received the highest bid at last year’s art auction.

When asked about her artistic style preferences, Amy extolled that most of her pieces are based on, “real objects and structures that she has come across”, for she has never been drawn to more abstract art. Her paintings are reflective of her preferences, for her paintings are quite realistic and embody the qualities of the subjects she is portraying.

As for her artistic philosophy, Amy shared, “I used to think that ‘good’ art had to be realistic, and abstract art was something I thought I would never enjoy. While I still somewhat think that way, I’ve opened up my mind to new, more abstract types of art.”
 
Some of Amy’s favorite pieces of work include her painting of the Roman Library, and her Tree piece, for they encapsulate a range of artistic techniques. Additionally, she is quite proud of her still-life pieces.

Besides her passion and talent for painting, Amy is also immensely talented at 3D modeling. Her works are astonishing, with clean lines, and a modern flair. It is no wonder she has a keen interest in pursuing Architecture at university.  Amy noted as well, that she finds herself, “more attracted towards structures and buildings as a preferred subject,” even in her other visual artwork. Having been exposed to architecture design from a young age, given the interactions she was exposed to because of her father’s development firm, Amy feels that her affinity for Architecture is a natural progression of her interests, for it “is field of study that does require a great amount of creativity”. Particularly, Amy wishes to attend university in England for architecture and hopes to later open her own architecture firm there.
 
Beyond the realm of school and her artistic avenue, Amy enjoys spending time with her close friends, whether it being catching a bite to eat downtown, or enjoying a sunny day’s stroll.
 
We wish Amy the best with her continued artistic excellence, and look forward to marveling at one her architectural wonders in the future!