Lilly Hall of Cary, 13, is using her creativity to raise funds to support medical workers during the coronavirus.
Her rich talent for eye-catching colored pencil drawings earned her nearly 1,000 followers on Instagram within two months. What started as a hobby became an Etsy business when her mother, Kristen Hall, posted one of Lilly’s drawings of a doctor wearing a mask. Garnering attention, the comments on the post encouraged Lilly to begin selling her art.
“I was very honored by the comments and by how people wanted to buy my art,” Lilly said.
Inspired by her mother who works as a nurse practitioner at WakeMed Raleigh, Lilly used the $70 she earned from her art to print 700 postcards of the drawing of the doctor. She then sent them to hospitals in six states around the country for doctors and nurses dealing with the coronavirus. A friend of Kristen Hall’s who works in Boston told her that Lilly’s postcards are all over Boston Medical Center.
“My goal is to inspire doctors and make their days better,” Lilly said.
Using her talent to support medical workers, Lilly is donating 50 percent of sales from her art towards PPE and medical supplies.
Kristen Hall is an artist herself, a skill passed down from her mother and grandmother.
“Art is something the whole family enjoys but Lilly really took off, she has such an incredible gift,” Hall said. “She’s really good at bringing out emotions of people in her art.”
Lilly has always loved drawing and being creative, even following YouTube tutorials to practice her skills. At 11, she began to focus on colored pencils as her preferred medium. She is also experimenting with watercolors after seeing her mother’s pieces and is learning to draw with charcoal. On average, she spends about six to 12 hours on each drawing. Looking to Pinterest and other art accounts on Instagram for inspiration, art is a form of stress relief for her.
“It helps me get my mind off things,” Lilly said.
Lilly hopes to see her business grow and continue creating in order to support medical workers.
Lilly’s art account is @lillyxdrawz, her Etsy page is etsy.com/shop/Lillyxdrawz.
