by Justine Chang, staff writer

Her senses become calm, but her imagination runs free when she starts to create a captivating vision across the canvas.

Senior Winnie Chang is a student who discovered painting was her true talent in sixth grade.

“I tried many things as a kid like playing basketball, badminton, and playing instruments like the flute and the piano,” said Chang. “But I realized in middle school that my true passion was painting.”

Ever since her epiphany, her parents saw great potential and wanted her to become a better artist. She took frequent art classes outside of school to help her improve.

“When I was a kid, I had an art class every weekend,” said Chang. “At one point, I had three art classes in one day.”

She is now taking Cal’s AP Art class, and believes it has helped her to develop her strengths and weaknesses because of its fast pace.

“To have students that are that extraordinary is a real pleasure as a teacher,” said AP Art teacher, Mrs. Farmer. “You don’t always see kids that are that dedicated and talented.”

The major inspirations of her work are her older sister, the works of abstract artists, and realist painter Norman Rockwell.

“I’m so excited to see students that can create such amazing pieces of work and that are so skilled,” said Mrs. Farmer. “I will miss having that around.” “We believe that, aside from art, she will be successful in business.”

She specializes in using impressionism and realistic views to paint scenes from wildlife and the outdoors. If she has extra time on her hands, she likes to create cityscapes.

“Winnie has a really distinct style,” said senior Mandy Han. “Her style has a really soft and effective touch, which is why she’s very good at mediums like pastel and oil paint.”

Whenever Chang  is creating a painting for school or free time, her mind is settled on the project she is working on. If she is not completely satisfied with how a painting turns out, she stops and tries to redo it, which can take her one to three months.

“When I do art, that piece is only in my mind, but I’m pretty impulsive,” said Chang. “The idea means more to me than the technical outcome.”

She once worked on a painting to enter in a competition for two months. She eventually realized that it didn’t look how she envisioned it, so she started it all over again.

“I learn something from every painting,” said Chang. “If I make a mistake in one painting, I’ll always remember it.”

Her skills were truly shown through her painting of golden poppies, which won her first place in the 2011 Congressional Art Competition her sophomore year.  Her artwork had the privilege of being hung in the California State Capitol building for a year and she won a trip to Washington, D.C.

“That was my highlight of being an artist,” said Chang. “It made me realize that I wanted to do art forever.”

She has entered the Congressional Art Competition two other times placing second and third place. Since freshman year, she has developed more of an individual style rather than being safe and too realistic.

“I used to be all realism and tried to make things more like real life,” said Chang. “Now, I’m more abstract and I’ve developed a more imaginative style.”

Beyond high school, she will be attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, but doesn’t plan to encourage art as much as she has before. She aspires to major in business and to become an accountant.

“Through art, Winnie has become a very detail-oriented student,” said Chang’s parents. ”We believe that, aside from art, she will be successful in business.”