The phrase “There’s more happiness in giving than receiving” is exactly expressed when sophomore Sarah McAtee, shares her artwork with friends. Mcatee began private art lessons when she was in fourth grade and, since then, she’s found a great hobby and possibly a future career in drawing and painting pieces for her friends.

McAtee is currently enrolled in advanced drawing at SHS. It is in this class that she was given an assignment in which she had to draw a selfie, and, opposed to drawing one of herself, Mcatee chose to draw a selfie of one of her close friends, sophomore Zoe Cooper. The project itself took her around a month to complete in class. Although it wouldn’t be uncommon for McAtee to spend an hour or two of her free time working on assigned drawings, she prefers to finish her projects in the classroom.

“I will sometimes work on my pictures for a couple hours on the weekends, at the most. I don’t work on it too much outside of school,” McAtee said.

On occasion,  McAtee will take up a project of her own creation, not something she’s required to do for the sake of her grade, but something she has chosen to draw out of an appetite. Something she will feasibly gift to another person. These works are completed solely out of class, as they are personal drawings.

McAtee’s boyfriend, senior Ben Blake, has received one of these creations, not because it was their anniversary or even Blake’s birthday. McAtee simply wanted to draw something for him.

“He really likes batman so I just surprised him with it. He didn’t know about (the drawing) until I gave it to him.” McAtee said.

Blake’s love for batman inspired McAtee to draw batman “from the waist up with a dark background” as Mcatee puts it.

Along with Cooper and Blake, McAtee has painted pieces for her mother and sister, some of which are currently hanging in their living room. She also takes requests from friends and family members who have an idea in mind. The requester has the vision, and McAtee makes it come to life on paper.

“I like the enjoyment people get when they get one of my pictures. I have a lot of people who ask me to draw them things and then when I do they get really excited,” McAtee said. “…It gives me a reason to draw. Not just doodling, but I’m actually doing it for something.”

Although she’s not certain, McAtee sees herself continuing on with art after high school. She hopes to become an art teacher and says “thats probably what i’ll do.”