Behind towers of papers and printers, among collections of paints and pastels, at the back of the art classroom Nasreen Schulze stands before her easel, sleeves rolled to her elbows.

Her latest work is an oil painting, a medium she’s just begun to experiment with.

“I do primarily pencil or graphite drawings,” Schulze said, “I mainly draw people and figures, not so much landscapes.”

Schulze says she has always been intrigued by the human figure, even at the  beginning of her artistic inclination.

“My dad works at Pixar, so I was always surrounded by a lot of artists and I think that influenced me a lot as a kid,” Schulze said.

A recent work of hers portrays in charcoal the nude back of a woman.

“We’re learning in art history about contrapposto, so balancing straight lines with curved lines, and I tried to incorporate that into my work by having one main focal point.”

Her current work-in-progress is an oil painting portraying a man kissing a woman’s cheek. Schultze says this piece is newgrounds for her as oil is not her usual medium.

“I never tried oil because I was always scared of it. I was very scared away by color in general, which is why I use mainly charcoal and graphite,” Schulze said.

However, with the encouragement of art teacher Gillian Bailey, Schulze is beginning to explore artistic mediums that she had previously been tentative to venture. 

“I’ve always been very stubborn when it comes to art, especially in art classes,” Schulze said, “I always felt like I knew better and the teacher, I have a very stubborn personality and never really wanted to expand past my comfort zone.”

Schulze said she never wanted to expand beyond her comfort, but Bailey has acted as a sort of mentor offering her new pathways to explore new mediums and techniques.