Senior Zoe Krause is a leader at Brentwood High School. In addition to being a member of National Honor Society, Student Council, and being Chief Editor of The Nest, Krause is also an amazing artist. She has been elected to exhibit her 12” by 36” acrylic triptych painting at the 2020 Emerson Young Artists’ Showcase. Her painting, along with 130 other artists, were selected from a field of 357 high school student artworks. Krause is appreciative of this award and feels awesome about it. “It’s cool to know that something I had only as an idea once, became reality, and was good enough to be recognized community-wise,” Krause said.

Krause has a love for food, which she displays on her Instagram @z.o.e.a.t.s where she posts pictures of things she’s eating and creating. She wanted to take her passion for z.o.e.a.t.s and create a “textural experience on canvas.” Each of the three paintings highlights a different color to help provide pattern and unity among each work. Krause focused on textural details to increase the paintings’ contrast and reality. She also chose to make the whites in the paintings pop so that the trio provided a visually pleasing use of space.

Krause wants to depict joy, lightheartedness, and intrigue with her paintings. She noted that each food creation of hers is slightly out of the ordinary, so looking at the pictures won’t reveal precisely what it is. She wants people to question the paintings. Krause feels attached to her paintings because they merge two things she enjoys in life the most, painting and food. She spent three months of art classes and many hours of her own time honing her painting skills to effectively render each dish. Krause noted that her piece gives a balanced, fun, pop-art vibe that acts as a complete composition. Her paintings show skill, creativity, imagination, and the risks she took to present herself in them. 

Krause’s fascination with art started when she was young. One of her art influencers as a kid was Mrs. Davis, the art teacher from Mark Twain Elementary, who Krause looked up to. Art also runs in Krause’s family. Both of her parents are artists but her father, in particular, went to school for fine art and is an art director and graphic designer now. Krause grew up with paintbrushes, coloring books, and creative outlets. “I was always crafting my own clothes, using clay to make key chains, or drawing in little books,” Krause noted. She loved art class ever since she can remember. If it was colorful, she was all over it. 

“I love art because there are no rules,” Krause stated. She finds coming up with an idea and rendering it super satisfying. Creating something that people look at and admire is her favorite feeling. Krause’s favorite types of art are painting and collaging. Although it stresses her out sometimes, she loves painting because it is something that she is good at and when she finishes, she feels talented and accomplished. She likes collaging because it is therapeutic and the pieces create themselves. 

This award isn’t the only one Krause has received for her art before. She placed 9th in the STL Post Dispatch 100 Neediest Cases art competition last year. Additionally this year, Krause was an honorable mention for STL Public Radio Photojournalism prize for her photograph from the Climate March. 

Krause plans to pursue art in the future. “I can’t imagine not pursuing it; the arts, in general, are my thing,” Krause said. Congratulations to Zoe for her new award and best of luck to her!