GSHS Senior Lilliana Betz earns visual arts contest Gold Keys

GSHS Senior Lilliana Betz earns visual arts contest Gold Keys

Congratulations to Gulf Shores High School senior Lilliana Betz for receiving two Gold Keys from the Scholastic Art & Writing contest. By winning the highest recognition that an art student can achieve in her region, Lilliana received an invitation to the annual recognition ceremony at Carnegie Hall. Lilliana (above) uses the medium of graphite & paper to create (left) incredibly detailed portraits. GSHS visual arts teacher, Austin Boyd, will travel to New York with Betz and her family.
Lilliana was one of seven GSHS students entering artwork in the contest. “This is the second year that we have entered art to be judged,’’ Boyd said. “Last year we had several students make the Honorable Mention list! We are still awaiting the results of the other six GSHS students, but I am told that every student who wins a gold key is recruited by the top art schools in the country.’’
Betz told Fox10 News that her work can take up to 36 hours, from picking out a photograph to drawing each and every detail from strands of hair to wrinkles and freckles.
“I think time and patience and a lot of practice gets someone to this because my very first portrait was not a good one,” she said. “I don’t like attention drawn to me a whole lot, but it does feel good to have people appreciate it.’’
“The first time I saw [Betz] do one of these pieces, when she showed it to me I was like, ‘wow is that a photograph?” Boyd told Fox10 News. “And my second thought was she actually drew this, this is almost insan