“I feel very lucky to be chosen out of everyone in school,” sophomore Kate Runser said after winning Best in Show for Drawing at Fine Arts Night on May 15. “I’ve been doing art even since elementary school. I’ve never had any formal teaching until high school.”

“She’s the first sophomore to ever get Best in Show for Drawing, and the judge said it was because of her portraits,” art teacher Bruno Baron said.

“I like doing realistic drawing,” Runser said. Her preferred choice of medium is charcoal. “I do black and white a lot of the time.”

Being in Studio 1, though, Runser has had to venture out of her black and white drawing comfort zone for her assignments. The furthest from her typical artistic style, Runser had to paint a still-life in Studio. “It’s necessary to get out of your comfort zone sometimes,” she said, “so you can challenge yourself to get better.”

Runser’s favorite piece she created in Studio was her drawn self-portrait. “Even though it was in my comfort zone, it was on a larger piece of paper than I usually work with.”

Runser draws much of her inspiration from social media. “On Instagram and Tumblr you see a lot of realist artists and I guess that appealed to me,” she said. “I wanted to be able to do that. I wanted to get good at that.”

“She’s got a very good work ethic, she’s drawing all the time. That’s something we strive for,” Baran said.

Runser plans on continuing her artwork throughout high school. “Next year I’m doing Studio 3 and Studio 4,” she said. For her senior year, Runser wishes to take AP Studio.

“My favorite thing about art is that it’s something to turn to,” Runser said. “It clears my mind and it’s relaxing.”

According to Runser, she puts her artistic thoughts into her own personal style. “Your style can say a lot about you as a person,” she said. “You can bring that into your art as well.”

“[Art is] a constant project,” Runser said. It can “say a lot about where you are in life.”

Lauren Glase is a News Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.