2022 July/August Franklin Living

For soon-to-be ninth-grader Yoselin Reyes, being able to spend time creating art provides a great deal of enjoyment. The rising Belgreen freshman has been drawing and painting for a year or two and said she tends to draw when she gets bored.

“I draw when the mood hits. When I draw, I feel happy,” explained Yoselin, who added she generally sketches her drawings in pencil and then traces over them with markers.

She started painting around the same time as she began drawing. “What I do most is draw, but I also enjoy painting with acrylics and watercolors. Friends at school see my drawings and ask me to draw things, and sometimes that’s how I try something new.”

Yoselin said her favorite subjects to draw are anime characters. The anime character she likes drawing most is the spiky-haired Killua Zoldyck, but she also draws characters from the show “Demonslayer.”

“Listening to anime music while I work helps me focus, and I enjoy watching anime with my 12-year-old brother, Daniel Reyes,” she said. “We do art together sometimes.”

She also draws a variety of other subjects, including her favorite plant, cherry blossoms, and her favorite animals, horses, as well as animals like tigers and foxes.

Yoselin said she hadn’t taken an art class at first, noting she “just drew randomly at school,” but when her brother Daniel started taking an art class during school, she asked one of her teachers if she could take art, too.

“I went to art class once a week during school after that,” she said. “Hopefully, I can do that again next year.” Her favorite project from the art classes is an oil pastel piece mimicking Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night.” “I knew about the painting a little, and I had used oil pastels a little bit before this,” explained Yoselin. “I enjoy experimenting with different art techniques when I get a chance.”

She said she also likes to draw skulls with floral embellishments. “I look up images on Google to find things to practice drawing.”

Her mother, Veronica Reyes, expressed her pride in her daughter’s work. “Yoselin has surprised me. Her drawings are amazing, and I’m so proud of her,” Reyes said. “We enjoy working to inspire her by compliments and pushing her to do more, like drawing people’s faces.”

Reyes said her daughter’s young cousin loves her drawings and always wants to get one. “All of the family is proud of her, and we give her drawing challenges. She leaves us with our mouths open when the final piece is done.”

Reyes said she doesn’t know where her daughter got that talent. “It’s something special. Yoselin’s a really great girl. She also helps out a lot and is really responsible.”

During her art classes, Yoselin drew a special portrait for one of her teachers, Susan Crittenden – of Crittenden’s son Levi with the Bobcats baseball 2021 blue map trophy. She said she spent two to three weeks on that one – a lot more time than she usually spends on a drawing.  “I enjoyed it,” she said. “It was a big challenge, and my teacher was happy with it. The drawing was a surprise for her son’s birthday, and she said he loves it and has it hanging in his room now.”

Yoselin’s creativity doesn’t stop there. She also enjoys photography and crafting. “I want to thank everybody for their support of my drawings and paintings,” she added. “When I grow up, I want to be a vet and keep doing art. I’ve got a lot of art projects I want to try.”

Do you know a young achiever who deserves the Franklin Living spotlight? Contact María Camp, maría.camp@franklincountytimes.com, for consideration for a future edition.