Leah Richardson dreamt of taking art classes when she was younger but couldn’t afford them.

So, at 14, she taught herself.

“I was homeschooled and the lessons I wanted were quite expensive,” she said. “I watched a few YouTube videos about painting, but mostly I just explored.”

When she finally got to take a class, staff at Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art decided she “had talent” and encouraged her to exhibit her work.

At 16, she became the youngest person to have a solo show at Homer’s Café.

“Surprisingly, I didn’t feel really nervous about it,” the 18-year-old said. “It was just about putting my work out there and letting people see it.”

She’s now enrolled at the Bermuda College, studying art and design.

“I’ve done two semesters,” she said. “I think going to the Bermuda College has definitely helped me. I’m sharing my work more. I am also learning to take my emotions and put them into art pieces. I used to do more realistic pieces.”

Her work was featured in the Bermuda College 15th Annual Art Exhibition at the Bermuda Society of Arts this month.

She won the People’s Choice award in the show for a piece she did of Princess Street in Hamilton.

Another piece, a self-portrait, also gained attention.

“I think that was my favourite piece in the show,” she said. “Normally, I paint a lot of landscapes, so it is very different from what I’d been doing before.

“It was exciting to be in this show, because I was doing it with other people my age who are also passionate about art.

“A lot of people came up to me at the opening and said they found my work inspiring. That was really nice.

“You can feel quite vulnerable having your work in a show, especially when it is a very personal piece.”

She loved playing with Lego and building blocks as a child. She always saw design as a part of her future.

“I think inventing and the arts are very close together,” Miss Richardson said. “The arts focus more on the emotional side, and inventing focuses more on the technical and scientific side. But I still explore creating new things.

“Every emotion in the real world can be turned into an art piece. I find that to be very liberating.”

She believes that being homeschooled was a real benefit.

“It gave me the extra time to explore and stay curious about things that fascinate me,” she said. “My parents, Yuri and Dain Richardson, have been very supportive.

“The exciting thing is I don’t know where art is taking me, but hopefully it will take me somewhere good.”

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