VADA Artist of the Month: Shae Fitzgerald

Shae Fitzgerald, a junior at Santa Barbara High School (SBHS) and proud member of the Visual Arts and Design Academy (VADA), is an artist of many dimensions. Fitzgerald joined VADA as a freshman after her older sister Lauren recommended it to her. Fitzgerald has always loved art even before joining the program. VADA only strengthened her connection with the artistic world. “I do not remember starting art; I just remember people knowing that I did art,” she said.

Painting is Fitzgerald’s favorite form of artistic expression that she’s focused on developing over the years. She described drawing and sketching as too restrictive compared to painting where there’s an entire world of options. “I have more creative freedom when I am painting because I can change so many aspects of it.” Fitzgerald said.

Freedom is a significant reason Fitzgerald wants to continue creating art as she gets older. It is an outlet for her that she has complete control over, with every detail and stroke being a choice for her to make. Isel Rodriguez, another junior VADA student, responded when asked about Fitzgerald’s art, “My favorite part about Shae’s paintings is how easy it is to see how hard she works on them and how much effort she puts into them. She makes sure every detail is perfect to her liking.”

All of the choices that come with art take hard work and dedication. Fitzgerald shared that art has taught her strong working habits and skills, which follow her into other aspects of her life.

Her artistic abilities shine in one of her favorite paintings, a rose bouquet which she created in a class with Brandon Teris, a VADA teacher on campus, during her freshman year. “I got a lot of time to really work on it, and there were a lot of details. It almost felt like a puzzle I needed to solve; how to make it really what I want,” Fitzgerald shared.

Kaya Miller, one of Fitzgerald’s fellow junior VADA students, also described her painting, saying, “I love how she made the roses look old by putting in just the right amount of detail to the petals.”

Along with the rose bouquet, Fitzgerald has created several other flower paintings. She expresses herself through flowers most of the time when she’s painting due to the freedom she gains to choose the lighting and color of her flowers.”Shae’s art is very unique, and you can see its originality,” Teris said about the key characteristics of Fitzgerald’s art.

Coming from a family full of artists, Fitzgerald is inspired by them. She shared that art has always been a constant in her life. “My family has a lot of artists in it, so we always go to museums, and I see stuff around the house and get inspired,” Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald’s artistic freedom has enabled her to learn about herself as a person. She has learned how far she can push herself and how not to give up when it gets hard. She shared, “It is frustrating to the point where I want to keep going. So it helps me with motivation.”