For this issue, NAHS has chosen The Royal’s Editor-in-Chief, Alyssa Manderach for the artist feature.

Manderach says, “Painting and drawing have always been an outlet for me. No matter where I lived, how old I was, or what was going on in my life, I could always just sit down and make something. Art has grown into a talent of mine that I don’t take advantage of and one that I wish I could exert more. However, when I do get the chance, it is so incredibly worth the hours I spend hunched over a table, scrutinizing my work until I’m finished.”

This is her second oil painting, made for her Portfolio art class. This portrait of Noah Kahan performing “Your Needs, My Needs” was referenced from a blurry screenshot of a video during his set at an Ocean City music festival. During his concert in September, she felt the reality of his music and songs on an entirely different level. Being surrounded by tens of thousands of people, both friends and strangers, while simultaneously screaming his lyrics back at him was an experience like no other. Her painting is an ode to that night and everything that his music stands for.