Balancing academics and managing a small business, senior Christopher Watson uses his creativity to create and sell paintings. Watson’s love for art began three years ago from student government, leading him to start his business eventually. 

Watson used his creative skills to apply them to STUGO through assignments, such as banners for assemblies, posters for spirit week, and more. A friend noticed his artistic abilities through these student government assignments and requested a painting. He stated, “I actually ended up being pretty good at painting, and then I painted more people’s paintings, and then someone eventually paid me for it.” Over time, Watson had more requests for paintings from others, leading him to start his own business.

Watson’s art style shifted over the years. He stated, “I’ve started moving towards expressionism, and there is also a lot of symbolism in my art recently. It used to be just landscape paintings.” Landscape paintings focus on natural scenery, while expressionism prioritizes emotion over reality. Transitioning from landscape to expressionism advanced his passion for art.

Desiree Houg teaches AP Literature, a class that requires creative and artistic types of work, expressed Watson’s niche art style. She said, “We actually do a lot of artsy type things to go with our work, so he has done one-pagers, album covers, and posters.” Through AP Lit, Watson can execute his creative abilities properly through the artsy assignments. 

AP Art History teacher Shelley Lee claimed, “He is always looking, he is always thinking and seeing, and making commentary.”  During AP Art History’s spring break trip to New York, Lee noticed how influenced he is by the world around him. He applied his observations in New York to his expressionist art.