By Laura Hou
Collingwood School is like a treasure box, each student is a gem of their own kind. Angelina Qin is one such gem. Like any other child, Angelina started doodling when she was very young. They say before a child walks, they crawl, before they speak, they babble. But as soon as they can hold a paint brush, they draw. If you were to visit Angelina’s house, you would find dozens of photos of her sitting on the kitchen floor doodling with markers and crayons. It wasn’t until she entered elementary school that Angelina started attending art lessons. But she soon found that the lessons were more recreational and couldn’t help her develop her style or skill. Angelina soon quit the lessons and started experimenting with drawing on her own. Art is not something you can learn, you must feel it first in your heart. That way, whatever you create on a page will be personal and intimate. For Angelina, creating art is like a stress-reliever, and it helps her express herself more than any words could.
For Angelina, the hardest part about creating art is finding inspiration for a new project. She would spend hours scrolling through Pinterest and Instagram looking for inspiration, but in the end, time was wasted spent on her phone rather than on creating art. If finding inspiration isn’t already hard enough, Angelina also struggles with “writer’s block”. She would often reach a stage in creating a new piece where she just wants to throw it out instead of finishing it. This is why her “Work in Progress” folder is four times larger than the folder for finished pieces. But despite these struggles, Angelina knows to always push through and see her work through to being finished. The greatest reward for an artist is to finish a drawing, no matter how bad it turns out. Because it is then that they know that they’re able to achieve anything. The most attractive thing about doing art according to Angelina is the freedom it brings. She always struggles with writing and putting words on paper but art allows her to express herself.
Collingwood School is like a treasure box, each student is a gem of their own kind. Angelina Qin is one such gem. Like any other child, Angelina started doodling when she was very young. They say before a child walks, they crawl, before they speak, they babble. But as soon as they can hold a paint brush, they draw. If you were to visit Angelina’s house, you would find dozens of photos of her sitting on the kitchen floor doodling with markers and crayons. It wasn’t until she entered elementary school that Angelina started attending art lessons. But she soon found that the lessons were more recreational and couldn’t help her develop her style or skill. Angelina soon quit the lessons and started experimenting with drawing on her own. Art is not something you can learn, you must feel it first in your heart. That way, whatever you create on a page will be personal and intimate. For Angelina, creating art is like a stress-reliever, and it helps her express herself more than any words could.
For Angelina, the hardest part about creating art is finding inspiration for a new project. She would spend hours scrolling through Pinterest and Instagram looking for inspiration, but in the end, time was wasted spent on her phone rather than on creating art. If finding inspiration isn’t already hard enough, Angelina also struggles with “writer’s block”. She would often reach a stage in creating a new piece where she just wants to throw it out instead of finishing it. This is why her “Work in Progress” folder is four times larger than the folder for finished pieces. But despite these struggles, Angelina knows to always push through and see her work through to being finished. The greatest reward for an artist is to finish a drawing, no matter how bad it turns out. Because it is then that they know that they’re able to achieve anything. The most attractive thing about doing art according to Angelina is the freedom it brings. She always struggles with writing and putting words on paper but art allows her to express herself.
Angelina’s favourite type of art is digital art because of how convenient it is. But she has been slowly trying to convert back to traditional art forms. Recently she has been experimenting a lot with Gouache (opaque watercolour) and watercolour. Angelina’s favourite artists include Monet and Van Gogh. But since their styles doesn’t reflect Angelina’s, she has been really inspired by Bluesssatan, Kelogsloops and Dalty.art on Instagram. Angelina claims that her art teachers influenced her the most regarding art. Her style is often a combination of tradition styles and interest. Angelina learn through the artists around her to always keep an open mind; especially if starting something new. Whether it’s a piece, a portfolio, an album or any other work, approach it with positivity and room for growth.
Besides art, Angelina also does a lot of debate. She is on the Collingwood debate team and she enjoys attending tournaments. Angelina’s advice to other artists is to never give up: “Nothing is set in stone. You can always go back and change it, or start fresh but still apply what you learned from your last mistakes. Turn your mistakes into something beautiful. Also, don’t ever let others’ opinions stop you. Always be open minded when it comes to criticism. Know that any criticism is room for growth.”
In the future, Angelina wants to pursue International Relations and areas regarding diplomacy. But whatever Angelina chooses to pursue and wherever she decides to go, may art be with her forever. Best wishes to Angelina as she chases after whatever makes her happy.
