Passion For Creating Art

Some people will tell you that they have known since childhood what they were passionate about, what they would grow up to become. For Shelby it took years of creating art, for her to realize that it was her passion. Shelby attended a project based high school in Exeter, NH called Great Bay e-Learning Charter School, which allowed her to explore her talent and passion toward art. Shelby would stay up all night working on school projects, making movies, and having photo shoots. When Shelby’s father bought her her first Nikon camera, she became obsessed with taking photos. Shortly after she was introduced to a local artist and teacher. Who despite her initial doubts about Shelby’s yellow and purple hair, and grungy appearance patiently nurtured her artistic curiosity and exploration. It was in her studio, overlooking the Great Bay Estuary that Shelby would spend hours taking what she saw in her photographs, abstracting them, and translating them into paint on canvas. Shelby still did not realize art was her passion. After spending two years studying in a community college trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life, it finally hit her. Creating art is what she should be chasing. Today Shelby is living in Dover, NH. She is a sophomore at the New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester studying painting/fine art. She continues to develop her own artistic voice, and hopes to someday help other young people realize their own passion for creating art.