Inspired by her young nephew’s colorful view of the world around him, it is no surprise that senior Emily Villatoro was awarded with Artist of the Month for May, the second time this year her art has been recognized.  The painting titled Adventures With Alexander is based off of a photo of her older brother and his son looking at the planes and clouds above them. Villatoro littered the painting with bursts of vibrant colors and clouds painted in the shapes of animals, highlighting the good she sees in the world.

Villatoro wants to create artwork that reflects the goodness in the world. She uses her real life for most of her ideas, and the people in her life to express emotions through her work.

“My nephew is a very exciting and adventurous person and so I wanted to reflect that in my painting. I used two photos as a reference to do it.  We went and saw the airplanes that day and I think that just captured him and the expression on my brothers face tied it all together,” said Villatoro.

She has taken art with Ms. Teaford for three years now and has learned an exuberant amount on how to express herself as an artist.  She is currently in Art III as a senior.  Teaford teaches art in a comfortable low stress environment, hoping to engage the students to find their creativity.

“ Ms. Teaford has taught me mainly not to overfocus, which is hard for me because I usually overthink the process of my work and I think I have come very far with the help of her advice as an artist,” said Villatoro.

She plans to attend Northern Virginia Community College in the fall for two years before transferring to an art school. She has no concrete plans on what type of art is the most interesting to study, but she knows that a career in art is in her future.  She has loved drawing and painting for a very long time and has gained inspiration from her sister.

“I looked up to my sister when I was younger. She used to draw in the hallway with the light on and she’d be drawing shadows and that kind of inspired me to draw” said Villatoro.

Villatoro uses her art to express the vision she wants for the rest of the world. Her family and the way she sees the world has shaped her entire artistic vision.

“I think the way I think really helps me. In most of my work I like to use a lot of color to express things. I want people to have a different viewpoint on life so when they see my paintings they see something happy” said Villatoro.

There is no doubt that the painting sitting in the middle of the library will make people view the world with a lighter heart.  People will start seeing the vibrant colors and hopefully start to look at the world like Villatoro does.