STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- What started with an art lesson when Erin McLoughlin was in third grade has become a passion for the now-19-year-old.
The Dongan Hill native, who currently lives in Tucson, Ariz., has a knack for creating realistic acrylic paintings of some of pop culture’s biggest icons like LeBron James, Billy Joel, Tupac Shakur and Elton John.
What’s even more impressive is that she creates a lot of these works of art for charity.
Recently, she donated a painting of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to the Arizona Cancer Foundation.
“Making people happy and seeing the way they react to my work makes me feel like what I do matters,” said McLoughlin. "It’s all worth it when I see them smile.”
“I moved to Arizona when I was 10 and I was watching a lot of art videos at that time,” McLoughlin said. “That was always the most interesting art form to me. Since then, I’ve been practicing.”
She started by designing her family’s Christmas card and later became more interested in creating lifelike faces with paint and pencils. McLoughlin said it takes almost three weeks to perfect a painting.
While she said her father, Stephen, has motivated her to pursue art further, she plans to pursue a career in the medical field. The University of Arizona student is majoring in psychology sciences with a minor in public health.
“I’ll see where my art goes, but I really want to go into the field of public health,” she said. “I’ll still paint even If I was a physician’s assistant.”
BTW: McLoughlin also does commissioned work. Those who want to reach out to the artist can do so via Instagram or email her at erinmartwork@gmail.com.