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Arts & Entertainment

Emerging Artist: Amanda Yau

17-year-old Mills High School senior.

Amanda Yau is following in her family's artistic footsteps.

Along the way, the 17-year-old Mills High senior has begun expressing her positive outlook on life through her creative artwork.

"My sisters attended ArtWorks in San Francisco," Yau said. "Every time they came home with a new art piece they'd completed, I was jealous of how great they were."

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Taking a cue from her siblings, Yau enrolled at ArtWorks when she was seven and has been attending ever since.

Although she paints with oil, acrylic and watercolors, and sketches using graphite pencils, charcoal and pastels, her medium of choice is oil paint.

Yau said she was inspired by French master Claude Monet.   

"I love to paint using oil – it helps me paint realistic and impressionist paintings. Monet's method of using bright colors in his impressionist masterpieces influenced me to paint and create the same kind of vibe using textures, vibrant colors, and perspectives," Yau explained.

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In addition to painting, Yau has explored graphic art at school, first in middle school where she learned graphic design on the computer, and then at Mills High School, where she learned digital photography and editing techniques using Adobe Photoshop. These skills permitted her to edit photos and create collages for class assignments.

Yau's work was recently displayed in an online art show sponsored by the San Mateo County Office of Education's Regional Occupational Program in collaboration with the local high schools.

Yau came up with her piece after photographing friends jumping in front of an interesting backdrop while on an outing in Burlingame. Taking inspiration from Andy Warhol she created her Pop Art.  

Editing the picture in Photoshop, Yau was able to create something special.  "One of the main elements of Pop Art I had learned was using multiple copies of the same picture in different shades of color," she said. Using Photoshop's Neon Glow filter, she adjusted the color scheme and created a soft touch to the photo.

Yau hoped her piece would portray a positive message. "I wanted to express my feeling that life is about being adventurous and ambitious," she said. "I wanted people to see my picture and feel content and maybe even smile."

Art exhibit organizers more than smiled. Yau's art was featured on the cover advertisement for the show.

After graduation, Yau plans to attend a four-year university and minor in art. Her future ambitions are to follow her interest in graphic arts and become an animator.

"Being an artist is very difficult at times. However, I love to take a challenge," Yau said. "By challenging myself, I learn new things."

To see Yau and other student's work on the Online Art Show, go to www.ropartshow.com

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