Immersing himself in art since he could remember, Fossil Ridge High School senior Leo Wang finds art to be something irreplaceable.

“It’s something that I find a lot of like comfort in, because it’s something that I’ve gotten good at over time, and I’ve put in a lot of practice for, so it feels like home,” said Wang, who is taking Advanced Placement (AP) art this semester.

Wang’s current project is his personal take on the five stages of grief.

“[The stages are] personified as what would they be if they were like Inside Out emotions, but like, biblically accurate,” Wang said. “I am currently working on denial.”

Other AP art students have also taken note of his talent, calling him unique and introspective.

“I think that it’s really unique that he can bring in parts of himself from the past and how he thinks that he is now,” said senior MacKayla Bond. “I think he brings in culture and then his own flair on things. I love that really early on in his pieces, you can just see the vision of what’s gonna happen.”

With his inspiration coming from events happening in his everyday life, Wang believes that art is the human mind’s reflection to be creative.

“Leo doesn’t really use specific references,” said senior Alta Clayton. A lot of us copy and paste exact photographs to redo, but he has a lot of imagination and creativity, and his pieces are really unique.” 

Chelsea Ermer, the AP art teacher, also has taken notice of the specific details that go into every piece.

“At first I felt like he was fairly quiet,” said Ermer, “and now, as I’ve got to know him, he’s talked to me a lot more, and I feel like he’s very kind of introspective, which I feel is lovely and unique.”

Wang’s favorite aspects of art include seeing other people admire and wear his work. He plans on starting art commissions in the future.

“I’ve done some section shirts for the marching band. Those are my designs. I’ve done the ambassadors, you’ll see that’s also my logo,” said Wang.

Though his art is extremely versatile, his personal favorite medium is digital.

“It’s accessible, and it can be so versatile, because you can have a bunch of brushes,” said Wang. “You can do anything from logo design to straight up simulating an oil painter.”

From his pieces that he has completed so far, the consensual favorite are his trading cards made for the AP art class.

“They were really pretty, and I love them,” said Clayton.

With Wang’s love and dedication shown through his work, it can be truly described as spectacular. 

“Art represents how I see the beauty in all things,” Wang said. “And it is my way to bring my imagination alive.”