By Ellie Smith
Staff Writer

Blank canvas, clear mind and pencil in hand. From the moment the graphite moves across the page, pristine technique is showcased in more ways than one. Major focus combined with a mastery of skills allows Delia Sanders to create masterpiece after masterpiece of realistic, representational portraits and landscapes.

What started out as a hobby has blossomed into an incredible passion for an activity that she truly enjoys.
“[Art] has always been a hobby, but in high school, I have taken a full year art class every year,” said Sanders. “So, that is when I really started to develop a passion for it.”

After many years of hard work and dedication, Sanders has received great honors and multiple awards over the course of her high school career.

As a young child, she enjoyed experimenting with new projects and trying out new ideas to test her skill set.
“I really enjoyed trying all different kinds of projects,” said Sanders. “I was always eager to learn different techniques and about new styles and mediums of art.”

Since she began high school, she has taken multiple art classes to help her expand her skills and make her a more advanced artist. Over the course of her high school career, she had taken visual art 1, visual art 2, advanced art honors, painting, and is currently in AP studio art.

Sanders has won multiple awards for a variety of pieces. This year, she won a total of two Gold Key Awards, one for a portrait and the other for a portfolio consisting of 8 pieces. The rewarding feelings she experienced after winning these awards were indescribable.

“I felt proud of myself and that other people enjoyed the result of all my hard work, just as much as I enjoyed creating it,” said Sanders. “Being rewarded for your hard work is a really great feeling.”

In previous years, Sanders won a Gold Key Award and was in the Boston Globe Scholastic Art Awards in 2011 for a drawing she created during her sophomore year. She also has had two pieces featured in the WA calendar including one of her most memorable drawings put in the 2011 WA calendar.

Sanders’ art teacher Edward Hardy applauds her intense focus while creating various works of art.

“Delia succeeds in the art room by combining a strong skill set with a laser-focus,” said Hardy. “One thing I can always count on is that she will attain her goal, regardless of how far-reaching it is.”

Despite her outstanding achievements in art, Sanders has faced many frustrations and challenges over the course of her artistic career. Completing a piece perfectly isn’t always easy.

“I would get frustrated with my work when it didn’t come out just the way I pictured it in my mind,” said Sanders. “I’d want to give up, but I just kept working at it.”

Both of Sanders’ parents have excelled in art as they both are graphic designers. They both also continue art as a hobby outside of their work. With her parents as great inspiration, she also admires surrealist painter Salvador Dali for his exquisite works.

Despite her passion for art, Sanders has decided to take a different path in her future and pursue a career in psychology and neuroscience. She is looking into colleges in the Northeast area including Tufts University located just outside of Boston, MA.

“I am going to keep up art as an activity and hobby,” said Sanders. “I hope to take classes in it, but my main focus in college will be psychology and medical studies.”

In her free time, Sanders enjoys skiing and taking dance classes for lyrical and ballet, and over the summer she teaches visual arts at an art camp. She has participated in the National Art Honors Society and art club within the WA community.

Friend of Sanders, senior Lena Mirisola, speaks highly of Sanders not only as an artist, but as a person as well.

“Delia is an incredible girl, inside and out,” said Mirisola. “She works harder than anyone you will ever meet, regarding both her art and academics. Whether she is painting, drawing, or even taking photos, her art is breathtakingly stunning, and it is obvious that she truly has a passion for what she does. To call her talented would be a gross understatement…this girl is going places.”