Olivia Chen started drawing when she was only 8 years old. Initially, Chen started sketching because of her sister, saying, “My mom signed me up for classes because my sister wanted to take them.” But Chen soon found that she liked drawing classes more than she expected. Her favorite aspect of drawing is the limitless possibilities. “I like how in art you have freedom over what you want to create, but that you can still be surprised by the end result,” Chen says. “I can look back on my progress and see how I’ve improved.”
She continued taking art classes at the MeiLin Art Studio focusing on traditional drawing and painting. Chen also started to experiment with other types of drawing. “I learned digital art and life drawing by practicing on my own, after learning the basic skills in class.”
Chen experiments with all different types of mediums, but “I mainly draw large pencil and charcoal sketches and I do acrylic, watercolor and some oil painting,” says Chen, who can often be found with her sketchbook. “I have a sketchbook that I carry around with me in case I ever get bored and feel like doodling,” she says. Her passion for drawing has elevated her skills to such a high degree that Chen has competed in several drawing competitions, including the Minnesota State Fair and the Scholastic Art and Writing awards.
