Artist of the Month: Susquehanna student artist inspired by Taylor Swift song lyric

May 28—As a creative herself, Lilliana Matis finds inspiration everywhere — including in song.

Song lyrics about postcards from Taylor Swift's "Midnight Rain" inspired the Susquehanna Community Junior-Senior high school student's winning piece for this June's student artist feature. A lover of travel, the lyrics sparked an idea for the Susquehanna resident to create a piece filled with mementos of traveling, from postcards to passports to commemorative key chains.

Each year, the newspaper and Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit honor local teens with the "Art for All Seasons" competition. Students from area schools create pieces of art across different mediums, which are then submitted by their teachers with hopes of the students' works being featured in Life&Times. A panel of judges from the newspaper and NEIU pick 12 winners, and on the last Sunday of each month, one of these works are featured alongside the calendar of events.

This year, we got to know these student artists a little better with a profile and Q&A.

Lilliana, a junior who is heading into her senior year this fall, recently chatted with Life&Times about making art from a young age, the process behind creating the winning piece and more.

Q: Tell me about your first memory of making art. Also, tell me how it felt when you created something for the first time.

A: I only vaguely remember this, but when I was super little, probably around 3 years old, I used to call my easel my "weasel." I would draw on it every day. I don't really remember the first thing I created, but I remember never feeling like what I made was good enough. In elementary school, I would compare my projects to artists way older and more experienced than me. Sometimes I still do that, but I'm working on not comparing myself so much to others.

Q: What medium do you like working in the most and why?

A: Recently, I've been trying to learn how to paint with oils. I really like the fluidity of oil paints, and I have enjoyed experimenting with them. Other than that, I enjoy using acrylics, and I really like making realistic drawings with graphite pencils.

Q: Do you have a favorite subject to draw or paint, and what draws you to that subject?

A: It usually takes me forever to decide on something to paint or draw. Most of the time, I end up scrolling through old pictures I've taken, and that's what I decide to use. Random pictures from vacations or trips I've taken usually inspire me. I really like drawing portraits or other realistic objects in pencil.

Q: Can you describe your process when working on your winning entry for Artist of the Month?

A: I was actually inspired by a lyric in a song. I was listening to (Taylor Swift's) "Midnight Rain," and the line about a postcard sparked this idea. I pulled out my postcard collection and chose three — one from each of my two grandmothers from trips they've been on, and one my mom sent to my brother and dad while we were in Denmark last summer. Everything else in the painting is from different trips I've been on: a map from Rome, a keychain from outside the Eiffel Tower and a euro and various coins from different countries.

Q: Who are some artists you like and why?

A: There are so many artists I like, I could never list them all. I admire artists from the Renaissance, especially Michelangelo. I love the colors Van Gogh painted with. I really like Degas, Morisot and Sargent as well.

Q: What are some of your favorite works of art and why?

A: I don't really have any favorites because I love so many. There are so many pieces that I don't know the names of, but I've visited some amazing museums that have art that I'll never forget.

Q: Are you considering pursuing art as a career?

A: Not exactly, but I don't think I'll ever stop making art on my own time. I'm interested in pursuing something in the medical field, but recently I've been thinking about also getting a degree in medical illustration.

Medical illustration isn't a very common degree, but I think it sounds pretty interesting. As a medical illustrator, you learn how to draw the human body and different biological systems. The illustrations and models you design can be published into textbooks, used in research and countless other things.

Q:What other interests do you have in addition to art?

A:I absolutely love to travel, especially when we get to check out art museums in the cities we visit. I love going to see Broadway shows and musicals with some of my favorite people. I'm a dancer, and I'm lucky enough to be able to assist in teaching some of the younger classes at the studio.

Contact the writer:

gmazur@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9127;

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