AUBURN — Saint Dominic Academy student Shuyao Zhang, a junior taking Advanced Placement art classes, will have an oil painting, “Outside The Frame,” showcased as a part of Maine’s Youth Art Month at the Portland Museum of Art for the month of March. Her painting shows a world that exists outside the edges of a picturesque postcard.

Zhang is the seventh student from St. Dom’s to showcase her work at the museum in Portland. She is building a strong art portfolio and plans on taking Advanced Placement 2D Design during the 2016-17 school year to fine-tune her best work for college applications. She is considering many art colleges in the country but has her eyes set on attending the Rhode Island School of Design in the fall of 2017.

“Shuyao is very talented,” said her AP Art teacher Stephen Amoroso. “She created the newest addition to the Christmas murals and worked throughout last summer in China to prepare for my class.”

Each year, Mr. Amoroso and the art department select one piece of student artwork to send to the Portland Museum. This is almost always an AP student and, typically, a senior.

“She is the first junior from St. Dom’s to have her work sent to the exhibit,” Amoroso added.

Zhang grew up in Kunming, China, but came to St. Dom’s last year as a sophomore. She comes from a family of artists and has been painting and drawing for most of her life.

“I like doing art,” said Zhang. “I came to St. Dom’s because there are more classes to choose from, and it is a better education.”

The Portland Museum opens the Youth Art Month exhibition at 4 p.m. on Monday, March 7.

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