Sophomore Micaiah Aling has been interested in art from a young age, first inspired to start drawing from the books she read and her own experiences growing up. Much of her art stems from concerts she’s attended, artists she looks up to and shows she enjoys. Her carefree, vibrant spirit is reflected in her art. 

“I don’t have a certain motive. I just like creating art for the fun of it,” Aling said. 

Aling used to be defined by vibrant, saturated colors, but now focuses on maintaining a monochromatic blue theme. 

“I’ve had a recent change in how I envision my art,” Aling said. 

Experimenting with new styles, Aling likes to reach beyond her usual, bubbly style. In “Unexpected”, this article’s cover photo, she delves into the world of realism, using cooler tones and unconventional blending styles. 

“I like it when [Aling] expands her artwork… her realism is really good,” sophomore Maya Rockwell said. 

In “Virtual Popstar”, Aling combines her personal style with more stylized, anime-like renderings of the famous Vocaloid, Hatsune Miku. 

“It’s fun when she does studies from real life and when her art is colorful,” sophomore Asha Schmit said. 

The young artist, like many others, is inspired by the media she consumes, more specifically, the music she loves. Stills of her favorite artists are referenced in the art she makes, often with a colorful spin. 

Many artists suffer from art block, a common phenomenon where artists enter a period where they cannot access their creativity. This period can be very demotivating, and many artists have difficulties overcoming it. Aling’s solution to this problem is music. After attending concerts by her favorite artists, BTS and Seventeen, inspiration flowed from her ears and into her hands as she sketched.

Art has helped Micaiah Aling express her passions and build a platform, like many artists before and after her. She loves to share her art with others, especially online. She can be found on @mochii.z on Instagram.

Gallery • 4 Photos

“A piece I made feeling very inspired after seeing the greatest boy group to exist live for the first time. I attended BTS' “Permission to Dance” concert in Las Vegas during spring break last year, and it was one of the greatest nights of my life. Before then, I hadn't drawn anything for months and was in a huge art block for a while, but after seeing BTS perform and realizing I was actually in the same vicinity as the people I've looked up to for the longest time, I felt very motivated and I had to make a drawing dedicated to their concert, and to especially how amazing Jungkook looked that night,” Aling said.