A self portrait of Isabel Yun, Jr.
Oakton junior Isabel Yun, a talented student artist, has launched an entire career based on passion and perseverance.
“I feel most alive when I paint, and you know how others take yoga to get in touch with their spirituality? When I paint and do artwork, it’s my chance to get in touch with my spirituality,” said junior Isabel Yun. “For me, it came to as more than just a hobby, and more of a way of life.”
Despite her present passion for painting, Yun hasn’t always immersed herself so enthusiastically in her artwork. Her dedication and focus to her art, as well as her painting evolving into an entire lifestyle, truly developed fairly recently, but at a swift pace nonetheless.
“I’ve been doing art since sixth grade, but it’s always just been more for fun and more of a hobby, and it was only about a year ago when art became a part of my daily routine.”
The inclusion of painting and art to Yun’s daily life and focus was the result of an immense achievement, and her focus eventually shifted towards art. Having her talent publicly recognized, she began her pursuit of utilizing her talent and fervor for the art form.
“I entered Scholastic, an art and writing competition, in my freshman year, and I received the highest award, being a gold medal, for my work. I received multiple awards from scholastic after winning a gold award at regionals, and then I started to really think about my artwork and how much I really enjoy it.”
When Yun entered the Scholastic art competition, she wasn’t persevering to win the honors that she received. Her intentions were more modest, revolving around her wanting to have her artwork viewed and judged by unbiased individuals.
“I just entered the competition to see how my art would be evaluated, but then I got really good feedback and started to rethink pursuing art, and that maybe there’s a reason I’ve been selected for these awards.
Along with being evaluated for her work, Yun received numerous awards for her work, and was given generally positive feedback. However, her previous achievements were seemingly unprecedented with regards to the achievement her awards led her to attain.
“After I received the national art award, my artwork was selected to be displayed in the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C.”
The artwork that earned Yun numerous praises and awards in the Scholastic competition is not the only work of Yun’s that has been chosen for displaying in a National building. After entering a different competition, Yun achieved further success, and an immense honor.
“I entered the Congressional art competition and the congressional and made it to districts, so I competed against students from all the schools in the eleventh district. I won first place and the prize included having my artwork displayed in the U.S. capitol.”
After recognizing her exceptional talent and passion for painting and art, Yun adjusted her schedule to include art courses, in which she would have the opportunity to expand her abilities and better identify her strengths and favorite aspects of art.
“I started art one and then I skipped to Art Three and now I’m in AP Art Studio.”
Contrary to the popular notion that artists simply sit down and begin painting, Yun’s process of artistic creation is quite formulaic, and her inspiration is derived from a variety of sources.
“I pretty much get my inspiration from daily life and everything around me, and I’m always thinking about art and how I can produce my artwork. It takes multiple forms of inspiration, and some take exploration, reference photos and sketches in my book, while some take a short period of time when I know ‘this is it’ and can start. While I’m in the process of doing my artwork, it’s not exactly how I first planned, and as I go on, I improvise and experiment.”
Yun not only spends time in school painting and creating art, but dedicates time at home to creating her pieces.
“I have a room in my house that’s dedicated to my artwork, and I put all my supplies in there, and I do a lot in my art room. I also do some at school, and I take private lessons outside of school to spend more time in art.”
Yun hopes to pursue her passion for art outside of high school, and wishes to dedicate her future to expanding her artistic abilities and achievements as an artist. She also plans on practicing art as an occupation, and is planning on majoring in major related to her artistic interests, including art forms other than painting.
“I am definitely going to major in fine arts in college, and I think it will be really exciting because everyone around me will love art as much as I do. I love design and am interested in interior and fashion design. I am also really interested in textile and fabric pattern design.”
After graduating from high school, Yun not only has the desire to major in a fine art in college, but has numerous ambitions concerning the recognition and achievements of her artwork, and recognizes that she has numerous possible paths to take.
“My biggest aspirations are to have my artwork in a museum. I would love to have my own exhibition when I grow up. I’m not going to only be painting all the way, so since everything around you is pretty much art, I’m still kind of undecided. When I get into college, I can experiment with different majors, and that’s when I can figure out what’s good for me. I love interior and fashion design, so maybe I’ll look into that. If I do fashion, then maybe I can start my own line. I’m also interested in jewelry design, so that’s another option. As of right now, I am mostly experimenting to see what I love the most.”
by Vipin Reddy
