Artesia High swimmer Savana Watts draws up future career as artist after college
A self-taught artist, Artesia High School swimmer Savana Watts finds balance between school, practice and drawings as the outgoing senior prepares for life after graduation.
She made plans to attend the University of Sioux Falls (USF) in South Dakota next year and is hoping to leverage her art skills to attain a possible scholarship.
“She comes at it naturally,” said father Rory Watts, who noted his daughter is a fourth-generation artist on his side of the family. “She has far surpassed my artistic ability. I typically can’t wait to see the next piece she is working on. Her whole family is very proud of her.”
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Savana Watts said she dabbled in drawings as a youngster, but the artist bug did not bite her until her sophomore year at Artesia High School.
Since then, she has taken two advanced placement art classes — the first focused on paper and pencil drawings and the second on sculpting and making art out of physical objects.
Savana Watts won awards for her drawings in 2022 and 2023 at the Eastern New Mexico State Fair in Roswell, which is an hour north of Artesia.
In 2022, she recreated a drawing of a Native American senior citizen that her grandmother drew years before. “I put my own twist on it,” Savana Watts said.
In 2023, she drew what she called a realistic photo of a senior citizen that she found.
“I decided to draw a realistic portrait of him,” she said.
Savana Watts' name etched in downtown painting
In June of 2023, Savana Watts — along with several other high school students — paid tribute to the annual “Balloons and Tunes" event held every November in Artesia.
Nancy Dunn, coordinator of the Artesia Arts and Cultural District, said the students participated in the student mural program, which was designed to enhance the downtown area.
Dunn said the program allows students to “stretch artistic wings“ as Savana Watts and other art students and instructors braved nearly 100-degree-plus weather to finish the project.
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“Savana was the first one there and last to leave every day, she spent a lot of time with (art instructors) Brandi Cox and Juli Newton laboring (in the June heat),” Dunn said.
She said the balloons painted on the back of the Artesia Wellness Center at 412 West Main Street are based on real people.
“Savana busted her tail,” Dunn said. “It’s beautiful, it’s something to be proud of.”
Art career in Savana Watts' future?
Set to graduate from high school on May 23, 2024, Savana Watts will start classes at SFU later next year where she plans to major in art and business.
She said working as a full-time artist or opening her own art gallery is a possibility after she graduates from SFU.
“I really do enjoy it a lot. I have thought about graphic design,” Savana Watts said.
Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMichae on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Artesia High swimmer Savana Watts looks at fulltime art career
