From 3rd Base to a Home Run in Art
The mural Grace Watlington created for Ntended for Kids and Dance Too
How does a third base softball player hit a home run in art?
Grace Watlington seems to have figured out how to get it done. A native of Caswell County, she learned how to draw from her grandfather, Russell Watlington. Over the years her passion for drawing grew into a fascination for animation. Growing up in Caswell, she had the opportunity to attend both South Elementary School and Oakwood Elementary School, so by the time she attended N.L. Dillard Middle School and Bartlett Yancey High School, Grace had formed friendships that have lasted since the third grade. When some of those friends learned that she could draw and had begun to create images by computer animation, they began asking her to draw various characters. Some of those friends even offered to pay her, but because of copyright infringement laws she was smart enough and kind enough to share her gift with her friends for free. Grace says that the Disney® and anime characters are her favorite to recreate. Her dream career was to one day be an animation artist for Disney®, but now she has fallen in love with a new art medium, graphic design.
The way Grace found her way down this path could be considered remarkable. She is a 2025 graduate of Averett University. While attending Averett to earn a degree in sports medicine, she played third base on the softball team. During her freshman year, while in the athletic training room, she learned of an opportunity to obtain 180 volunteer hours and shadow art professors. This piqued her interest so much that she ended up earning a minor degree in studio art. Grace says if it had not been for her softball training, she might have never learned of the sports medicine degree that allowed her to add art as a minor. She still plans to become a physical therapist, but she also hopes to have her own graphic design business someday.
Currently, she is working at KG Graphics, a family-owned graphic design company located on Court Street in Danville. She is learning the many aspects of business, starting with customer service, handling invoices, and printing before working towards the title of graphic designer.
That’s not all this 22-year-old artist has been up to these days. She recently finished a window mural for Ntended for Kids and Dance Too, a children’s store located in Danville. The mural is her first big project. After creating the beautiful ballerinas and flowers, she now wants to create more murals. That spark started in the ninth grade, when she loved seeing small pieces she created become larger pieces. Grace has worked with all types of art mediums, from photography and sculpting to colored pencils, but one of her favorites is painting.
Because of the love she has for Caswell County, she wants to become more involved in organizations within the county such as the Caswell Council for the Arts. Another goal is to one day create murals in the schools around the county, and possibly incorporate images created by some of the students.
Until then, she will continue to enjoy softball and building her art portfolio.
Grace Watlington
(336) 694-3206
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