For senior Devon Royston, art can be a tool that can both expose one’s inner self, and help people with their feelings.

Royston has always been heavily involved in both performing arts and the visual arts. 

Royston described a painting he started last year that began as a reflection of himself. "But I ended up turning it into sort of like a clown almost," he said. Clowns can be misunderstood, and he said he felt drawn to that feeling. Royston said his initial idea turned into a mask of sort, 

Royston tries to create art on a regular basis - if not every day, at least once every two weeks, he said.

"It ranges from like sketches to full blown painting (of) students. Sometimes it's making jewelry or it could be sculpting," he said.

Royston created a picture of his friend's cat named Bates, like the Bates Motel. The cat symbolized their friendship."I tend to specialize in surrealism, but I guess this could be surrealism. In a way. I think it's more implied," he said. "We know it's a cat."

Royston does not have a specific process he engages in to create art. "There's always the idea, and then sometimes I like to sketch it out on paper." he said "But other times I just go straight for it. And then whatever happens along the way gets incorporated in the design."

Like many young people, Royston has not quite decided on his future after high school. He wants to be in "the realm of helping someone or attributing to a greater goal," he said. "Bigger than me - bigger than our community - and being remembered in history, or doing something to impact the greater good."

Royston is planning to go to Chemeketa first, major in psychology, then transfer to a bigger university like the University of Oregon.

He said he is drawn to psychology because of a desire to help people fix their problems. As for art, he said “Art and psychology, they can be used to help one another. I think some psychologists use art to allow patients to express what they're feeling inside. And that can then help discover some sort of trauma that they've had and that they can help them with that.”

Royston’s friends find Royston enthusiastic. According to senior Kendall Lemons, “he likes what he likes, and what he likes is art and school.” 

“He knows he wants to do something with that and I can’t wait to see what he does,” Lemons said.

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