Veronica Steel is a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who has had a passion for art since she was very young.

“I started painting at a young age, I believe when I was around 3 or 4 years old,” Steel said.

Steel has continued on all throughout high school. Art is a major part of her life and something she has improved on a lot as time went on.

“Art is very important to me because it’s something I grew up with and learning all the new techniques throughout my life has helped me improve my art skills to creative drawings that I am proud of,” Steel said.

Some of the art techniques she has learned include acrylic painting, watercolor painting, stippling, collage and hatching. These are the ones she uses on most of her paintings and drawings.

“I get my inspiration from ideas and designs I see on Pinterest and I’ll switch them up into my own drawing until it comes out the way I like it,” Steel said. What she draws ranges from animals to nature, movie or show characters or things from video games.

She is not set on a specific set of colors when painting, varying depending on what she is drawing.

“If it has more of a creative look to it, I use the whole color wheel, if it’s more noir, I use shades of black and white,” Steel said.

The colors, the shades, and the feeling Steel gets when painting are some of the things that make her have such a big passion for art.

“I love art because it gives me a sense of calmness. I use it sometimes when I’m stressed to help ease how I’m feeling. I love to create drawings that I’m able to impress myself with,” Steel said.

Each day, Steel grows and improves as an artist as she continues to paint pieces that are meaningful to her.