Minnetonka High School Student is a Self-Taught Sketcher

Minnetonka High School student Reed Raarup
Minnetonka High School student has a passion for drawing.

Minnetonka High School student Reed Raarup, 15, might be young, but his artistic career is taking off. The artist—who started teaching himself to draw at a young age—has completed a few commissioned works, and often shares his drawings on Instagram, where he has lots of fans. We talked with Reed about his art journey and where it might take him.

When and how did you get started doing art?
I’ve been doing art for as long as I can remember. I started teaching myself techniques by watching YouTube videos while I was in elementary school.

What kind of art do you make?
Mainly I prefer drawing, although I have experimented with painting in the past, but drawing seems more natural to me. Graphite (pencil) is what I prefer, because of all the different values I can achieve.

You posted a drawing of Lake Minnetonka on your Instagram account, and it was a popular post.
[It] was a commission that I made for a family that lives on the lake...For reference, I had a poster and pictures of different maps. In total, it took nine hours, which, compared to some other drawings I’ve made, is fairly short.

Instagram: @reedsdrawingss