Alice Wang, a sophomore at Bellevue High School has been drawing for as long as she can remember. Wang remembers drawing as an infant and grew up surrounded by stacks of notebooks filled with her own scribbles.
To this day, Wang continues to immerse herself in the world of art. The 16-year-old recently entered a contest she found online, submitted three pieces from her portfolio, and waited for results.
Wang entered the international competition, Illustrators of the Future contest and to her surprise was chosen as a winner. She was recognized at the 35th Annual L. Ron Hubbard Achievement Awards in Hollywood on April 5.
Twelve (12) winning writers and 12 illustrators from around the globe joined Wang in Hollywood for a week of professional workshops and an awards event. Wang is currently the youngest winner in the contest’s history.
“I was very proud,” Wang said. “I just happen to be the youngest winner and I’m really happy about being able to inspire a younger generation of people. That’s the goal of the contest – to inspire future illustrators and writers. I was [also] very happy to be among talented people, and I appreciate the experience.”
During her week in Hollywood, Wang said she truly appreciated the workshops that were held by the judges of the contest. Each workshop focused on different topics such as how to improve your portfolio, what to expect from being an artist, and more. Wang said she thought the workshops were “very important” and when the time comes, it will help her make a decision about pursuing illustration in the future.
Wang’s art will be published in the annual anthology, L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 35, which has been a bestseller for the past four years in a row.
It was also Wang’s first time working under an art director. When Wang was chosen as a winner, she was commissioned to illustrate for a story and was required to check in.
“I think it’s actually interesting to have a second perspective on your art and to have someone work with you to create a common vision,” she said. “I enjoyed working with [the] art directors [and] it was interesting to have someone expand on your vision.”
The journey was a surreal experience for Wang. Being a high school student, she said she’s never had to deal with the press on such a large level. She was able to meet many people including people in the artist community. Wang said it was overall “very beneficial” to her.
Wang said art is a way of packaging ideas and communicating ideas in a visual way to the world.
“I think it’s beautiful that art can encapsulate those ideas and be used to communicate to audiences,” she said.
Alice Wang, a sophomore at Bellevue High School received an award on April 5 for winning the worldwide Illustrators of the Future contest. Photo courtesy of Alice Wang
