Dark shadows consume the pale white faces of the two subjects, each focused, staring at something known only to the artist. Their inky black hair cushions the heavy polished crowns, which seem to furrow the eyebrows of the grimacing man and woman.

When sophomore Audrey Stitt was assigned a creative project on Macbeth, she knew immediately that she wanted to portray the two characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, through drawing. She did not know, however, that her pieces would later be bought by the English department.

“I really wanted these to be really good, so the process of making them was really long,” Stitt said.

Stitt chose to emphasize the play’s dark, twisted tone through the exclusive use of charcoal and colors of black and white.

“I wanted it to be in charcoal because it is dramatic, and these are very dramatic Shakespearean characters,” Stitt said. “There would be a lot of intense shadow and background.”

After hours of intense work, Stitt was proud when her English teacher Sarah Westbrook asked if the English department could buy the two portraits. The portraits will be framed and mounted in the school.

Stitt has been drawing and painting for as long as she can remember.

“All my childhood I was either inside drawing or outside playing; I was just always drawing,” Stitt said.

Art is an innate ability for Stitt, according to visual arts teacher Donna Sartanowictz.

“She’s a really open person. She has a wide range of things she looks at and a good eye for design,” Sartanowictz said. “You develop that just by doing a lot of looking.”

Sophomore Emilia Morgan has taken art classes with Stitt and is familiar with her artwork. Stitt’s work is realistic and detailed from piece to piece, according to Morgan.

“Everything is very well-designed. It’s shaded perfectly, and all the images in it are very realistic,” Morgan said. “Her birds look like birds and her trees look like trees.”

Stitt said she works at showing subjects from interesting points of view and using shadows to shade her drawings.

Having a sense of design when putting together a piece of artwork is one of the hardest things to teach students, according to Sartanowictz. There is no one way to look at something. Design is developed over time, and Stitt has the benefit of experience.

Stitt pays attention to detail and works on drawing from both memory and eye. Sartanowictz describes drawing from observation as a way to exercise the brain with details, almost like having a library of images in the mind.

“Her paintings are very very accurate,” Morgan said. “It shows that she’s a very attentive person and sees a lot of detail in the world and takes notice.”

According to Sartanowictz, Stitt is a very gregarious, outgoing, social person. But when it comes to drawing, she is calm and focused.

“She has the ability to marshal her attention and shut out those distractions so she that she can really focus on her work,” Sartanowictz said. “Maybe people don’t see that interior because her friendly side is the way she meets people in the world, but the way she meets and engages in her work is a bit more serious and contemplative.”

According to Morgan, Stitt is both a compassionate friend and artist.

“She’s a really good friend,” Morgan said. “And just like she is with her artwork, she’s really attentive and caring with her friends. She cares what’s going on in their lives.”

Sophia Rintell cab be contacted at [email protected]