Welcome to a new, special edition of Teen Ink magazine. In this issue, we're focusing on the talented artists of Teen Ink!
Ever notice the stunning art pieces shared on our social media, our website, and in Teen Ink magazine? All of these pieces are created and submitted to us by teens like you! We know how amazing all of this artwork is, and that's why we've decided to dedicate an entire issue to it!
This issue also includes spotlights on two of these talented teens, featuring a collection of their art and an interview where they share advice to fellow artists. And the wait is finally over for the results to our Create a Character Contest — make sure to read this issue to discover the winner and honorable mentions!
We always welcome your feedback! If you want to write a letter to an editor or respond to an opinion article, visit teenink.com/submit!
Best regards,
The Teen Ink TeamThis month, we're focusing on art!
ARTWORK BY WEIQIAN YAN, TROY, NY
1 UNDERWATER CORAL ILLUSTRATION BY ANANYA GUHA, BHOPAL, INDIA
2 SHARK BY EVY MANSAT-GROS, GREENVILLE, SC
3 RAIN DANCE BY BROOKE NOVINGER, COLUMBIA, MO
4 SEASHELL STAINED SHORE
BY SARAH WANG, PORT MOODY, B.C., CANADA5 NUMB
BY AIDA EL-HAJJAR, MILWAUKEE, WI
“The beach has always been where I can relax and have fun, when I was younger, I would always collect seashells with my sister and then walk to the nearby lighthouse with my family if there was one.”
— Sarah Wang
“In modern society, although technology is more advanced and the means of communication are more convenient, the relationship between relatives and friends is not as close as in ancient times.”
— Jackie Lao
1 CHINESE FAMILY DINNER
BY JACKIE LAO, SHANGHAI, CHINA
2 LOVING MY IDENTITY
BY ANONYMOUS, SEOUL SOUTH KOREAThe quiet rustling of the leaves and trickling droplets of water spun together a calming melody that danced with the twirling breeze. Sunlight filtered through the oak trees where woodpeckers and finches had made nests. A small clearing with soft gray moss and pearly white daisies glittered in the glowing rays of the sun, morning dew hanging sleepily on the blades of grass. In the distance, a fawn was stretching her legs awkwardly, her mother watching gently with deep brown eyes.
A girl stood in front of a canvas, the woven fabric plain and empty. An acrid fragrance overwhelmed the crisp air as she opened the glass jars of fresh paint. Standing with her shoulders relaxed, the girl took a few steps away from the canvas and squinted her sharp hazel eyes, tilting her head so strands of brown hair slipped onto her face. The limitless possibilities of the ideas she could paint floated slowly across her mind, like wispy clouds on an azure sky. She stretched her arms, the sleeves of her cotton dress falling to her elbows. Using her delicate fingers, the girl pulled her hair back messily and looped the strings of her apron around her waist. She then started painting, her hand grasping the brush as her fingers ran down the rough wood.
Using a round brush, she made bold strokes of blue across the canvas. She blended shades of pacific, cerulean, sapphire, and admiral blue to create the bottomless lake, striking slashes of iceberg forming ripples in the calming water. Off white shades were used to illuminate the dark atmosphere to form a figure gracefully twirling on the lake. Stroke by stroke, the painting came to life, the depth of the lake, mysterious, and the dancing girl, beautiful. The fluttering folds of a golden dress brought out
the hidden sparks of guilt scattered across the deep blue lake.
It wasn’t perfect. The messy strokes layered on top of each other failed to hide each and every flaw. The girl’s cheekbones were too prominent, giving her face a more angled look than the softer look that the painter had been aiming for. Some of the painted ripples appeared unnatural, shades of blue too bright to create a smooth flow in the water. Yet, the girl smiled as the sun fell, shadows lengthened across the canvas, bringing out the texture of the dried paint.
THE
The girl rinsed her hands in the streaming cold water of a nearby river and carefully packed away her cracking paint. Taking her finished painting with her, she left a new blank canvas on her stained easel before leaving the clearance. Tomorrow she would come back with new ideas, perhaps better than before, but for today, she was happy with what she had created.
Fireflies flittered across the woods, lighting up the dark sky as the sound of crickets chirping filled the cold night air. The earthy smell of the forest and the faint aroma of the wildflowers danced together as the crescent moon curiously watched from the sky. In the distance, a fawn and her mother had fallen asleep, their black noses tucked under their hind legs while they nestled together in their warm den.
LIMITLESS POSSIBILITIES OF THE IDEAS SHE COULD PAINT FLOATED SLOWLY ACROSS HER MIND, LIKE WISPY CLOUDS ON AN AZURE SKY
“A visual for “Grow” in American Sign Language.”
1 DOG BY ANANYA GUHA, BHOPAL, INDIA
2 NOSTALGIA BY JUNO JIANG, ONTARIO, CANADA
3 WHAT’S UP THERE?
“I captured a brief moment of my dog’s daily life when she was basking outside in the heat of summer. Using the perspective of her enlarged nose, I tried to frame the simplicity of her nature.”
“A young girl explores her desire for hope and how her mentality has deteriorated gradually. The butterfly’s strength and allure, which represent a yearn for hope, juxtapose the creases on the photo.”
“Different angles of a girl’s face are plastered onto origami boxes, leaving her confused and unable to recognize herself. The disconnect represents disbelief and denial towards reality.”
BY EMMA CHEN, MCLEAN, VA
BY LUCÍA GÓMEZ, PALMA, SPAIN
BY ANANYA GUHA, BHOPAL, INDIA
BY CHINAZA NNAJI, MARIETTA, GA
BY KORRYN NARVAEZ CEDAR HILLS, UT
1 CITY ABOVE CLOUDS
BY GUO ZIXIN, SHANGHAI, CHINA2 FRAGILE VULNERABILITY
BY SOPHIA LEE, CARY, NC“Depicts the nature of toxic relationships with several hands around a girl, looking off-screen. They seem to nurture and care yet if you look closer, it’s gradually harming her.”
1 HOME BY SHELLY YE, SAN RAMON, CA
2 ROLLING EYES
BY SOFIA MANSILLA, RECIFE, SPAIN
3 WONDER LAND
BY ZHAOYI LUO, SAN RAMON, CA
4 FASHION IN SEOUL
BY MINSEO KANG, SINGAPORE
5 HAKU: RIVER SPIRIT BY FAITH ZHANG, POTOMAC, MD
1 CASTLE
BY ALEXANDER HERMAN, LINESVILLE, PA2 PUZZLE PIECES
BY LINDSEY SMITH, CHARLOTTE, NC
“To express the connection, warmness and kindness between a girl and a cat.“
1 HIBISCUS
BY ELLIE BRUBAKER, HOUGHTON, NY
2 DISSECTION
“New Normal is a piece depicting life during the COVID-19 pandemic. It conveys how following new safety protocols became mundane daily activities.”
1 12 AM
BY KATHERINE CONJALKA, LATHAM, NY2 PIETA RECREATION
BY KRRISHA PATEL, SECAUCUS, NJ
My name is Evy Mansat-Gros, I am an American and French citizen, born in South Carolina. I aspire to become a marine biologist in the future who conducts research on marine mammals and how they are affected by anthropogenic behavior. I have many other hobbies such as watercolor painting, music (violin and piano), and sports (netball, athletics, and scuba diving) that allow me to work on myself and enjoy life. I enjoy spending time with my family, especially my siblings with whom I have a very strong bond.
BY EVY MANSAT-GROS, GREENVILLE, SC
What do you love most about art?
Art to me means being able to express yourself in a creative way. I enjoy being able to reflect my thoughts and life into my paintings. Art allows me to see the world from a different perspective, seeing the details to everything, connecting me to the world and nature.
How long have you been interested in art?
I have always had a deep interest in art since I was a child. I would spend my free time after school and on weekends, painting, drawing, or sculpting with clay. Ever since, I have continued, however focusing on watercolor as I enjoy the fine painting and delicacy it requires.
How did you get into art?
My mum was always very keen on art as a child too, and passed it onto me and my siblings. My family believed art was very important for young children, allowing a child to develop and explain their thoughts in different ways. Instead of watching TV or playing video games, I was encouraged to paint or go outside.
Do you have any other hobbies?
I have many other hobbies including music and scuba diving. Both activities I started at a young age, my school was
invested in music and supported every child when learning a new musical instrument. I learnt how to play the violin and piano which enabled me to gain different skills such as time management and patience. On the other hand, I started scuba diving after being inspired by a picture of a diver that my dad showed me. Over the years, I have completed many levels and have gained a lot of confidence underwater. I hope to use my scuba diving skills as a future marine biologist.
Do you have any tips for other artists?
Art is not about what others like, it is about what you feel and what you love. Art is a subjective matter, and it is not because one person, a family member, a teacher, a friend doesn’t like your art that it doesn’t have a meaning to you. Any piece of art has value, it just needs to be put in the right perspective.
Do you have any interesting stories/ experiences relating to art?
When I was a child, I was gifted a book about marine organisms in Australia, inside the book there were many sketches and watercolor paintings of each marine species. This childhood book called The Field Guide to Ocean Animals by P. Perry inspired me to start painting using watercolor, and gives me hope to one day also be able to write children’s books and incorporate my art within.
1 THE FISHERMAN'S BEACH
2 PROVENCE-ALPES-CÔTE D'AZUR
3 MANTIS SHRIMP
4 DIVING THROUGH A BEAM OF MEDITERRANEAN CHROMIS FISH
5 FLY AGARIC MUSHROOM, BRIGHT RED WITH WHITE SPOTS
6 POPPIES
7 MY FUTURE BORDER COLLIE
My name is Changan Chen, and my English name is Antony. I'm about to graduate from senior high. Although I decided to major in Biology, I kept drawing & painting as a hobby for a long time. I've learned nearly every form of drawing except sketch (of course 'learned' isn't an equivalent of 'excelled at' in this sentence). Currently, I'm doing Traditional Chinese painting.
What do you love most about art?
When I'm drawing, I often feel like I'm bringing imaginary objects and landscapes to life. Even if I'm drawing something that does exist, it feels different from photography. I feel it every time, but there's no way I can describe it. I think what's most fascinating about art is it's meant to be felt, not to be described.
How long have you been interested in art?
I started drawing & painting before I knew how to write my name. (That's why everyone I meet says I hold my pen in a strange way when I write — they say it looks like I was going to draw with it.)
I feel like I was born into it.
Do you have any other art?
Yeah. I can do karate, but not as good as my friend who introduced me into it.
Do you have any tips for other artists?
Like I said before, focus more on how you feel about the art. Don't analyze everything.
Do you have any interesting stories/ experiences relating to art?
Well, when I was in junior high, my friend forgot to bring his textbook (he's the one I mentioned before who introduced me into karate), and I lent him mine. That's how I got famous at school — back then, I forgot that I doodled in it. It turned out that the headteacher took a visit in the middle of his class and saw my textbook. Then the headteacher thought my friend was doodling in class. He almost got into trouble, until he explained that I lent textbook to him. Later, everyone in my school heard about it, and I was the last one to know. I was confused when people I knew nothing about started lending my textbook for no reason. I had absolutely no idea they just wanted to see the doodle.
1 SNOW JUST BEFORE SPRING
2 LAND OF SOLITUDE
3 THE HUMID LIJIANG RIVER
4 SHANGRI-LA
5 LODGING IN THE MISTY PINES
6 FISHES IN SPRING
BY YUANYUAN ZHAO, SHANGHAI, CHINA
UNSPEAKABLE
BY OREN STILES, OAKLAND, CA
1 COTTAGE IN A MEADOW BY ALLISON GALLOWAY, MASON, MI
2 ANCIENT TOWN BY GUO ZIXIN, SHANGHAI, CHINA
"Ball pen portrait of a young girl suffering from her trauma of war. (Inspired by Ukraine & Russian war)"
BY GRACE ZHOU, NEW YORK, NY
1 STROLL IN THE FOREST
BY VALERIE JAMES, LEAGUE CITY, TX
2 CAT LUNA
BY MIKI LIN, BRANDON, FL
3 KOI POND
BY ABBIE BARROWS, JUPITER, FL
4 AN EGG STUDY
BY ALINA SUKHOVSKAYA, DAVIE, FL
5 CRYING SNOW
BY KATE KIM, SUNLAND, CA
6 PIGMENTATION
BY MALLORY JENNETTE, RALEIGH, NC
7 DESTINY
BY ANONYMOUS, SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
“Drawn in chalk pastels, this image is in tribute to runway model Beverly Johnson for opening up the modeling industry to people of all diverse backgrounds.”
— Eftalia Economou
1 RADHA KRISHNA PAINTING
BY KRRISHA PATEL,
SECAUCUS, NJ
2 SNOW AND LONELINESS
BY WEIQIAN YAN, TROY,
3 CAMERA GIRL
NY BY SHREE YAM, CHITAPUR, INDIA
BY NIAH GOUDAR, NEWBURY PARK, CA
Flowers and forests filled faraway lands and fantasy worlds. Once the first color hits the canvas, the picture slowly starts to trickle to life. Strokes create shapes, shapes create objects, and shades create perspective. Strokes, shapes, and shades is all she needed, to create a beautiful landscape in her mind. The seconds turned to minutes, and the green strokes became green triangles. The minutes turned to hours, and the green triangles became trees in the distance.
sky grew dark, the leaves started dripping through the forest of trees.
There was now a squirrel, who sat on a rock overlooking the river. He had one big leaf acting like an umbrella over his head, protecting him from the rain. I will name you Sam and you like to protect the animals in the river, don’t you Sam? In her mind, Sam happily agreed to her statement and she added a small crown atop Sam’s head. King Sam, King of the Radwitz River.
She swept her paintbrush into more colors, creating more strokes, and shapes. Shading them with other colors to create more pieces for the final puzzle. After more hours, she had a beautiful waterfall that tumbled over rocks that, once rough, now appeared soft and smooth like a baby’s blanket.
The waterfall flowed into a river, the sunlight dancing around the water’s current and peaking through the trees. The shadows on the ground created patterns on the pebbles below. "I wonder if I could turn this into a rainy day," she thought to herself. She added grays and blues, covering up the sun and the clear blue sky. Clouds rolled in and the
The King watched carefully over the rushing river which was completely still to everyone around her. He looked for any animals in need, but to everyone else, there were no animals around him. The water raced over the edge of the rocks and occasionally splashed King Sam, but nobody noticed. The trees blew harder and their leaves and branches shook from them, falling to the ground as the storm rolled in, but nobody heard them.
Though this world might have been real to her, the truth is, it’s just a white canvas with layers upon layers of different colored paints. Paints which were put in specific places in specific ways to create something beautiful; but to her, it was something much more than beautiful. It was a world. A world where there was a squirrel named Sam who was King of a river and wanted nothing more than to sit on his rock, under his leaf, watching over the animals of the river.
ONCE THE FIRST COLOR HITS THE CANVAS, THE PICTURE SLOWLY STARTS TO TRICKLE TO LIFE
Weiqian Wu, 5
Ananya Guha, 7
Evy Mansat-Gros, 7
Brooke Novinger, 7
Sarah Wang, 8
Aida El-Hajjar, 8
Jackie Lao, 9
Anonymous, 10
Emily Delk, 12
Ananya Guha, 13
Juno Jiang, 14
Aida El-Hajjar, 14
Aditi Singh, 15
Anonymous, 15
Eva Choi, 16
Emma Chen, 17 & 18
Guo Zixin, 21
Sophia Lee, 22
Shelly Ye, 23
Sofia Mansilla, 23
Zhaoyi Luo, 23
Minseo Kang, 24
Faith Zhang, 24
Alexander Herman, 26
Lindsey Smith, 26
Anonymous, 27
Ellie Brubaker, 29
Emily Cai, 29
Katherine Conjalka, 30
Katherine Conjalka, 31
Krrisha Patel, 32
Yincheng Qian, 41
Yuanyuan Zhao, 42
Oren Stiles, 42
Allison Galloway, 43
Guo Zixin, 43
Aashi Rana, 44
Yeony Jung, 45
Grace Zhou, 46
Managing Editor: Noelle Campbell
Consulting Senior Editor: Cindy W. Spertner
Associate Editor: Kylie Andrews
Consulting Editor: Ashley Nix
Head of Strategic Partnerships: Chane Hazelett
Zhitong Zhou, 48
Valerie James, 49
Miki Lin, 49
Abbie Barrows, 49
Alina Sukhovskaya, 50
Kate Kim, 50
Mallory Jennette, 50
Anonymous, 50
Eftalia Economou, 51
Noah Rice, 51
Yincheng Qian, 51
Sabrina Mei, 52
Emma Chen, 52
Mera Foster, 52
Krrisha Patel, 53
Weiqian Yan, 53
Shree Yam, 53
Anonymous, 54
Niah Goudar, 54
Dara Carneol, Front Cover
Katie Chier, 11
Ananya Guha, 19
Lucía Gómez, 19
Alexandrya Pompa, 20
Aesha Jackson, 20
Chinaza Nnaji, 20
Korryn Narvaez, 20
Evy Mansat-Gros, 33
Changan Chen, 37
Anonymous, 55
Mera Foster, Back Cover
