Junior Francesca Sipe is a student who attends Careerline Tech Center where she focuses mainly on her work in digital form. Now, let’s take a deeper look into one of her pieces and what inspired it.

What inspired your piece?

Well, my piece is called “Atomic Dog” so it was inspired by my dog Ajax. I did some drawings in sixth grade that were a skeleton and some jelly. I called it “Skelly Jelly.” So creative, I know. That drawing was in the back of my mind so I decided to redraw that one.

What’s your preferred type of art to make?

I like making pieces digitally, but also just sketching in general.

What mediums did you use to make your piece?

I used pencils and paper for sketching and also a digital software called Adobe Illustrator.

What was the process of creating this piece? How long did it take you to make it?

It took me between six and seven hours. I first had to sketch it out on paper with a pencil and then I used a marker to trace it. I then just rearranged the drawing and then put it into digital software and colored it on Adobe Illustrator from there.

Where do you pull inspiration from?

Places I see on Instagram and on other media, like TV shows and my music. Sometimes I pull inspiration from an idea of something that I see around me as well.

How long have you been doing art? 

I mean, kind of since I was born. But when it comes to digital art, I’ve been doing that since a bit before 2020. Since I have two parents that are artists, it’s kind of hard not to grow up with that sort of surrounding but when it comes to seriously drawing, I’d probably say fifth grade. What I know from kids who don’t have parents as art teachers or parents who are artists, their parents are a lot less critical, not in a bad way or anything. My parents give me so much advice about my art. With more normal kids whose parents don’t have an art background, they say their parents look at their art pieces, put them on the fridge, and say that’s good. My parents go a step beyond that and say that’s good, but let’s see what we can add to that to make it even better. I think that has definitely helped me improve my skills much more. 

What kind of music do you listen to and why?

I listen to more chill music. I don’t really know how to describe it,  that’s just how Spotify labels the playlist. But I also listen to 70s and psychedelic rock, it’s fun. It’s the kind of music that I grew up with. My parents would always play that sort of music while cooking meals and stuff, so I’ve just always been exposed to it. I think this sort of music has made me a more loose person overall.

What three items would you use to describe yourself and why?

A sketchbook, a pencil, and the night sky. The sketchbook because I feel like that’s where I jot down most of my ideas and I’m looser with it. I’m looser with my art in general. It’s a really good space for me, where I do my best art or at least have my best ideas. A pencil because that’s how I create ideas on paper, and then the night sky because I always like looking up at the stars, they’re pretty

If you could go anywhere in the world with anyone, where you go, with whom, and why?

I’d probably go to Japan with my mom, Mrs. Sipe because she went there before and she tells stories about it all the time. She recently grabbed a photo album and was like, wow, look at all these places I went to. I was like okay, stop making me jealous. I just think it would be a fun experience overall.