MARTINSBURG, W.Va. (AP) - Spring Mills High senior Alexis Delong has been painting and creating art for as long as she can remember.
"She has always been talented in art. Her drawings were always more advanced and detailed than other kids her age and teaching kindergarten I kind of know what kids artwork is supposed to look like," Alexis's mother, Melany Delong said.
Alexis, 17, said she owes her love of art to her mom. "I got into art because of my mom. She did a lot of art when she was in school and in college also and she really liked it. So she just kind of brought me up like that at a really young age," Alexis said.
"I remember doing paintings with her when I was really little, so I think that's why I've always wanted to do art ever since then because of her. She has always influenced me," she added.
Melany said that even now that Alexis is older, her love for art and being creative has only grown.
"At home that's just what she's always doing. She is always drawing and she loves to do creative writing," Melany said.
"Her room just looks like an art gallery. She just has all this stuff everywhere. She even painted on her wall," she laughed.
"She did this big thing on her wall, she didn't ask, she just did it. And then after the fact she was like 'do you want to see what I did!?' It is this big Egyptian thing, it's very interesting," Melany added.
Alexis said that she draws inspiration from some of her favorite artists, that includes surrealist artists, Salvador Dali, Henri Matisse and Vladimir Kush.
She also likes thinking outside the box and draws inspiration from ordinary things she sees everyday.
"Sometimes I just look at something in real life and I'm like 'what if this was that?"' Alexis said.
Last year for her Advanced Placement concentration she created artwork of people made out of other things. "There was a lady made out of wood and one out of concrete. That's a time when I was like "what if someone was made out of wood?' she laughed.
She said she tries to experiment painting all sorts of different things, but she really loves painting portraits and abstract art.
Last year Alexis was a part of the Berkeley County art show and was asked if she would donate a replica.
She re-painted a piece of a butterfly for the Boys and Girls Club auction, where it was sold for $135.
"That was really awesome, but also challenging because I had to get it done within a week and the original had taken three weeks. But made me feel really good," Alexis said.
Alexis heard about this opportunity because her mother is a teacher at Burke Street Elementary.
Her mother, Melany, said she immediately volunteered when she heard that the school wanted to hang a local artist's paintings.
"She said 'I'll do it, I'll do it!' She has a heart for the kids here too. She has heard all my stories and everything as she's grown up and her father has been here helping, so our family is involved. You can't be here and not be embedded in this school. So she feels like she's a part of this school even though she never went here," Melany said.
Todd Cutlip, principal of Burke Street Elementary School, said this is the first year that the school has concentrated more on the arts.
"We are focusing more on arts and technology here at this school so we thought it would be a good idea to get an artist to paint something for us," Cutlip said.
"There's research that says that with arts and technology kids become more involved in school, as well as their families. Parents are more inclined to come visit the school to see their child perform then they are to come to a parent teacher conference," he added.
Alexis spent her own time working on three large paintings for the school and she is donating two or three more.
She has focused her inspiration for this project on painting people who have creative careers that involve art, since the school is more art focused now.
"I was thinking about different paintings showing different jobs that requires you to be artistic," Alexis said.
The three paintings that are in Burke Street now include a potter, a ballerina and a landscaper. These are displayed inside the front doors.
Cutlip said he hopes that by having this artwork on the walls it will inspire students as well as welcome people into the school.
He said was thankful for all the time Alexis has spent and that he and the school appreciates it.
"She is a very nice young lady," Cutlip said.
Alexis hopes to sell more of her artwork and continue working on her art as she gets older. She plans to go to West Virginia University and major in a creative field like, graphic or web design and minor in art.
Information from: The Journal