Sarah Joy, a senior here at Gulf Breeze High School, was selected to be the December Artist of the issue for The Blue & Gold newspaper.  

   Joy has always been a very artistic person. At an early age, she always did art at home and loved doing crafts in Daisies. Her family described her as being “a kinetic learner,” doing things that captivated her rather than just listening or watching. They knew she was “creative and had a unique perspective.” In 2nd grade, Joy started doing art in a studio. Since then, she has continued to grow in talent and has even won awards for her works of art.  

   Most recently, Joy submitted an 18×24 acrylic painting, called “Under your Pillow,” to the Gulf Coast Art Festival. She received 2nd place in painting and an Artist’s Achievement distinction from UWF. “I am in Portfolio Development Honors and my investigated study this year is literal interpretations,” explained Joy. “From animals, to sayings, to mythical creatures, I take the literal interpretations and try to represent them to the best of my ability. So, for my competition piece, I painted a tooth fairy,” she continued. “It was a renaissance-style portrait of a fairy-like girl with a tooth for a head. Unlike some other artworks of mine, there’s no super deep meaning behind this piece — I honestly just thought it would be a unique and fun thing to paint.” 

   Joy gets a lot of her inspiration from 14th century renaissance art, in addition to impressionist artists like Claude Monet and Edgar Degas. She also enjoys reading a lot of poetry and takes inspiration from her own interpretation of their meanings.    

   While Joy’s most common mediums are acrylic paint and watercolor, her favorite is mixed media. “I love to use a bunch of mediums and cut-outs from various sources to create a meaningful or interesting piece of art with small details,” said Joy.  

   Through her various pieces, Joy exhibits her strength in painting and fine details. “I tend to use small brushes with only a few hairs on many of my pieces, regardless of the size of the composition,” she noted. Despite her talent in painting, Joy believes she could improve her skills when working with colored pencils and markers.  

   Although Joy has a strong passion for art, she does not plan on pursuing a future career in art. “I am content with keeping my hobby a hobby, so I can continue to enjoy it the way I do currently,” she expressed. After high school, Joy plans on attending college and getting a degree in the biological science field, with a focus on botanical research.