AARON HALE / Special to the Eagle

Camielle Aylwin works on a painting at the Left Bank Art Fest on Marco. The 15-year old Marco native aspires to go to an art school for college.

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Many of history’s great artists — Edgar Degas, Leonardo da Vinci, and Mary Cassatt, to name a few — found their passion for painting in their teenage years.

For Camielle Aylwin, a 15-year-old tenth grader at Lely High School, art was never something she considered seriously — not until a year ago when she fell in love with the idea of painting.

Camielle said that she had always enjoyed drawing, but had never tried her hand in painting until high school.

It wasn’t quite love at first sight, but it was close.

Camielle, a life-long Marco resident, was taking an art class in ninth grade, working on two-dimensional sketches when an older student came into the classroom to work on a painting. Camielle closely watched him as he painted.

“And I looked at the painting,” said Camielle. “And I was like, ‘Oh my Gosh! I want to do that so bad.’”

She told her art teacher Bob Domke that she didn’t want to do the simple sketches anymore — she wanted to paint.

Domke gave her the canvas, paints and his blessing to start painting.

With her supplies ready, Camielle went to work on finding inspiration for her first painting. Using watercolor she created a painting of a woman selling fruit in a market.

Domke was so impressed with his student’s painting that he decided to enter it in a local art contest.

The contest, called an “Artistic Discovery,” was sponsored by the Congressional Art Caucus. It was open to students in Florida’s 13th U.S. Congressional District.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was my first painting,” said Camille about getting into the contest.

Camielle was shocked when she won second place in the contest. She said she was even more surprised when she realized the magnitude of the honor at the awards ceremony.

“I thought it was a really casual thing. So I showed up and [U.S. Rep.] Connie Mack was there. It was some huge deal,” said Camielle.

The encouragement from her first painting was enough to motivate Camielle to dedicate herself to honing her new craft.

She began practicing painting by setting up bowls of fruit on the table. Since her mother is a florist, the young artist could also use flower arrangements for inspiration.

When the Marco Island Foundation for the Arts held their first ever Left Bank Art Fest, Camielle entered the show. This art festival would be her first chance to show Marco Island her artistic potential.

The festival was held March 22 at the Esplanade Shoppes in Marco.

The festival featured local professional artists. But it was 15-year old Camielle that stole the show.

Accompanied by her family at the festival, Camielle stood at the bank overlooking the Smokehouse Bay working on an oil painting depicting a yellow flower.

“We are so proud of her,” said Robert Aylwin, Camielle’s father.

She was very approachable to the visitors of the festival. So approachable that several members of the Art League of Marco Island offered her scholarships to enroll in classes at the Marco Island’s Center for the Arts.

If Camielle comes across like a normal shy high school student, it’s because she is.

Though she might be a budding artist destined for great things, for now she is like any other high student.

Camielle said she is a little stressed about final exams coming up. She said that she’s going to have to study hard for her upcoming exam in AP Psychology — a college level course.

Once exams are out of the way, she said she’s looking forward to her summer vacation plans to travel to Tennessee and Cape Cod.

“I want to take pictures,” said Camielle. Hoping to bring her photos home to inspire more paintings.

She credits her father, a chef at the Old Marco Pub and Restaurant, for her passion in art.

Said Camille, “My dad always brought me up [saying], ‘Always drawing always do things’ because he’s a really good an ice sculptor.”

Camille admitted that she’d like to try ice sculpting one day as well, but for now she’s content with tackling the challenge of painting.

Although she said she wants to continue her artistic education, her plans for college are still vague.

“I would love to go art school. I don’t know which one, I have no idea,” said Camielle.

But she still has two more years to decide.

She is weighing her options with classes and scholarships at Marco Island’s Center for the Arts.

For now, Camielle is honing her skills as a painter, practicing the craft whenever she has time. And time will tell what she does with her passion for painting.

For art lovers on Marco — they can feel satisfied that a talented young artists is bringing a little more beauty to this community.