Sitting in the dimly-lit art room as the distinct cinnamon aroma twirls around her nose, senior Leila Hudson paints. Each brushstroke represents a single letter; each thin layer of oil paint, a word. With her last brushstroke, the piece is finished. Hudson becomes a grand storyteller, each painting a quintessential part of her own unique story.

    Hudson’s AP Art Portfolio, centered around people’s passions, contains portraits of her close friends and family members. Two pieces from her portfolio, “The Other Side” and “Lunch With Grandpa,” recently received silver keys from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, the second-highest regional honor. She also won her first-ever gold key, the highest regional honor, for her painting “Widowed.”

    Growing up watching her older sister draw, Hudson gained a love for art. During her childhood, she also tried other mediums, including crafting and eventually oil painting throughout high school. 

    She’s experimented with many styles, but eventually found her own.

    “When I used to draw, my goal was to make it as realistic as possible, but I really like making a likeness of somebody [now],” said Hudson.

    Hudson’s painting “Widowed” depicts her clutching her face in shock as a black widow spider crawls down from her forehead. 

    Although done before she had a portfolio idea, Hudson knew “Lunch with Grandpa” would end up in her portfolio since it was more personal. Hudson’s grandfather asked if he could be painted, to which she agreed. 

    “I just wanted to do a portrait of [my grandfather] … he’s laughing, and we were out to lunch when I took the photo to capture the moment,” said Hudson.

    Her other painting, “The Other Side,” depicts two versions of her doing her other hobby outside of art.

    “It’s me and me: one of me is playing a guitar [with] bleeding fingers. … It’s about me thinking I couldn’t get to where I was [and] improving and seeing myself in the future,” said Hudson.

    Along with these two paintings, she also has painted her friends engaging in their passions. Hudson is currently painting senior Logan Phares-Robinson doing photography. 

    She also painted senior Kaori Jackson going in for a bite of her frosted arm as a play on her passion. Jackson, who started baking seriously in the eighth grade, felt very honored. 

    “I was really excited when she told me what her idea [for the painting] was. I’ve never seen anything like that, so I was really interested to be a part of it,” said Jackson.

   Hudson also spoke about what she would advise other young artists: “Be around people who push you. And try new things, because that’s how you improve. If you do the same thing over and over again, it’s difficult to expand,” said Hudson.