Olivia Peters is a senior at Pleasant Valley and well-known by her peers for her involvement in the arts. Olivia is the Head of Publicity for Theatre Troupe 856 and a highly skilled makeup artist, doing both traditional and more costume style makeup for school performances.

What activities do you participate in outside of school artistically?

Outside of school I do makeup, drawing, and I am learning to paint digitally.

What do you do in these activities?

When it comes to makeup, I do more traditional glamorous stuff for girls getting ready for school dances, and on myself, I prefer to do more artistic stuff that I can photograph creatively. Painting digitally is my newest project. It involves practicing a lot of hand eye coordination because you draw on a tablet and the image appears on the computer.

What got you so interested and involved in makeup and digital art?

I started doing makeup after watching a bunch of YouTube tutorials in middle school. I began drawing and painting mainly when I became the publicity officer for the drama club because I needed to be able to design posters for shows.

Do you have any favorites or preferences when doing your makeup and digital art?

I really like the Ben Nye effects gel for when I’m doing special effects, especially the blood one. A lot of fake blood is really messy, but this one solidifies into a sort of silicone texture, which makes it way easier to use. I use Photoshop for digital things.

Do you have any specific artistic inspirations?

Some of my favorite makeup artists are Kandee Johnson, Ruthie Barone, and Dominique D’Angelo.

Any final words for to people aspiring to do what you do?

Just go for it! The only way to improve at something is to practice a whole heck of a lot.