Taylor Longenberger

Sophomore Taylor Longenberger adopts several different impressionism and pop art techniques.

Most people stop painting after their childhood days of wa­tercolors and finger paints, but sophomore Taylor Longenberger is embracing it.

The English and communi­cations major and art minor has been painting and expressing herself through various mediums since as far back as she can re­member. Longenberger started by playing the violin in high school and danced competitively for 15 years.

“I started dancing when I was three and I danced up until I was 18, but here I’m just not inter­ested in the style that the dance team performs, I actually taught tap dancing classes for about 4 years,” Longenberger said.

Ever since her departure from dance she’s needed a new outlet for her self-expression.

“I didn’t start taking art class­es until I was a junior in high school, I really regretted not tak­ing more because I enjoyed it more than anything else,” Lon­genberger said.

Ever since she took her Paint­ing One course last year, it’s in­spired her to pursue earning a minor in Art.

“I love painting and if I can receive academic acknowledge­ment for it, I figured why not?” Longenberger said.

She looks to legends like Renoir and Vincent Van Gogh for inspiration.

“A lot of my work is like his, he doesn’t like to blend colors as much and you can see the brush strokes he makes, which I like,” Longenberger said.

When she’s home on breaks, she cam frequently be found at a coffee shop where she’s been getting a bit of attention from people passing by.

“I’ll be painting there some­times and then I’ll turn around and there will be a bunch of little kids standing there watching me paint, it’s kinda strange but it’s also really adorable,” said Lon­genberger, amidst laughter.

According to her, it’s actu­ally brought in a bit of business; people will be walking by and will approach her about painting something for them.

“I can make anything be­tween $50-100 for a piece, I think I could ask for more but I’m unsure,” Longenberger said.

From time to time, she posts different paintings on social me­dia sites like Facebook and peo­ple inquire about the pieces and offer money, bringing in more revenue.

Whether or not one may ap­preciate painting, Taylor’s style, which switches between impres­sionist and pop art, leaves room for anybody to enjoy.