Amy Luo

Interviewed by Hannah Tong

Grade

Mediums

The main ones that I use are oils, digital, sometimes watercolor and like ink.

Classes Taken at Harriton

Art 9, Art 1H, Art 2H, AP Art

Interview

Art Focused Questions:

Quick Intro:

My name is Amy Luo, I'm a senior at Harriton High School. I've been taking arts since I was four/five years old.  I really like art as a hobby, even though in college I won't be doing art, I still hope that it's part of my identity.

What is your favorite media?

Oh, that's hard. Like film or books, that stuff. I really like comic books, graphic novels are definitely my favorite.

Do you do a lot of planning beforehand for your pieces?

It depends. Some pieces requires a lot of reference gathering or me taking photos of myself to get references. Though some pieces I do without any sort of processing. AP requires a lot of processing beforehand, so I've been doing a lot this year, but usually I just like draw for the fun of it.

What do you find more frustrating about creating art?

Sometimes references are hard to find, so you have to make your own, either with yourself or using 3D models online, but those are really tedious.

Do you have any favorite visual artists and why?

Maybe some classical painters or romantic painters? I do like Monet. Modern art-wise, there's not a single artist I like, but I enjoy the style of Sony Studios and Pixar Studio! Concept arts are always really, really cool, in my opinion.

What do you believe are your strengths and weaknesses as an artist?

Strengths, I'd say, skill wise, I think I'm pretty well rounded, because I've been doing art for a long time.  My weakness is definitely coming up with creative ideas. I usually blank for a while and end up coming with pretty simplistic idea. But a lot of art is coming up with cool ideas, even though your execution might be good. It's like, if it doesn't really mean anything, does it matter?

What was your AP theme?

My theme was reflection.  So during senior year, you write a lot of essays and stuff for college, and you do a lot of reflecting. So I thought, hey, let's just do that for AP Art because it's not that difficult to depict. I was doing reflection through writing, through art, these kinds of moments where you reflect within yourself.

Do you plan to incorporate art in your future?

I might post more consistently on Instagram again. I used to do that when I was a freshman, and then I stopped because I got too busy. I also think, I might do it as like a side hustle or freelance work or something when I'm older.

Do you have any advice for students based on your experience going to AP?

I thought AP would be pretty easy because I was good at art.  But it's actually a ton of work, especially as a senior, because you have senioritis and you don't feel like doing all that work. A third of AP Art is actually drawing and doing art. The another third is writing and the last third is just process work. You need to do a ton of thumbnails and experiments and revisions. You also do a lot of just straight writing. So when you come into AP Art, don't expect yourself to only do art, you're going to be doing a lot of other things too.