Artist of the Week: Lauren Lemay

Senior Lauren Lemay has had a passion for art ever since she was 2 years old and her grandma handed her watercolors to create her first painting. Today, Lemay is drawing everything from people to faces and painting in her free time.

What are the artistic interests and talents you enjoy doing most?

“I enjoy painting and drawing. I took a class at East that was pottery, and I got into that. The class was mostly sculpting and jewelry, but most of what I do in my free time is painting and drawing.”

How long have you been interested in art, and when did you first start?

“Ever since I was really little my grandma got me into art. She was an art teacher so I’ve done art for as long as I can remember.”

What got you interested in art and made you want to continue it? 

“I’ve always enjoyed art and doing it with my grandma, but school really took me to another level with art. I took classes at different places in the summer — The Kansas City Art Institute — and those classes took my art to another level and more seriously and not just another hobby that I’d do in my free time.”

What is your favorite thing about art?

“My favorite thing about art is that I can spend hours just doing it and not think about anything else. The hours go by very quickly and I feel like it’s a good escape.”

What is the hardest part about art for you?

“The hardest part for me is showing other people your art because it makes you very vulnerable to see what other people will say, and other people’s critiques can make you feel awful about your art, whenever you worked really hard to make it.”

What other art classes do you take to improve your skills in art?

“I took classes at the Lacey Lewis Realistic School of Art, and that was just drawing classes to get better at realistic drawing. I also practice art at home to improve.”

What is your favorite thing to make in art?

“I love drawing people and faces, it’s what I’ve done the most throughout my life, and is probably my favorite thing to draw.”

What are your art hopes for the future? 

“I’m studying art in college at Kansas University — KU — and I’m hoping to find a career in art, but I don’t know quite what that will be yet.”