Bowie resident Danyele Holland has been drawing since the age of 4 and entering art exhibitions since elementary school.

Whether she’s sketching a bell pepper on her counter, or working on her latest exhibition submission, her family often finds the 17-year-old with her headphones on, humming to her music as she sits with her artwork.

Four years ago, after Dana Holland realized her daughter wanted to pursue art as a career, she enrolled her at MTC Studios, a local Bowie art studio where Danyele could expand her knowledge of new techniques.

For the next two years, Dana Holland said her daughter flourished in that class, so much so that in 2022, her teacher and school owner Mavis Turner, suggested that she compete in the Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological, & Scientific Olympic Program hosted through the NAACP.

Founded in 1978 by author and journalist Vernon Jarrett, the program is intended to recognize young people — specifically high school students of African descent — who demonstrate academic, scientific and artistic achievement.

Danyele’s artwork often reflects her other interests, like admiration for her favorite pop singer, Olivia Rodrigo. Last year, she submitted a portrait sketch of her favorite TV personality, Steve Harvey, which won a gold medal. She advanced to the program’s national competition in Atlantic City. Though she did not win nationals, she left with the desire to come back. In August, Holland won the gold medal for painting again; this time, she headed to Boston with an oil painting that she taught herself to create.

Using just oil paint and YouTube videos to show her the basics, Danyele created a foggy landscape of an open river at night titled “A Journey to Freedom.” She said it was difficult learning at first, but she enjoyed how the oil paint made the scenic scape look realistic. The painting speaks for itself rather than the artist having to explain what it means, she said.

“Art inspires me,” Danyele said. “It allows me to express myself freely.”

When Danyele was in seventh grade, her mother and father, Darnell, enrolled her in the Harbour School, a publicly funded private special school, to put her in a learning environment where she could thrive. Danyele has an auditory processing disorder that is best accommodated in a small classroom environment, in which she gets one-on-one instruction time, her mother said.

The Habour School has two campuses, located in Baltimore and Annapolis. The Annapolis branch, in Cape St. Claire, accepts students from six local school systems, including Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties.Many of the students who attend the school were referred because their current learning environment cannot support their individualized education plan, according to Nöel Butler, program cirector at the Annapolis campus.

“I call them ‘the falling through the cracks’ kids,” Butler said. “They might not be a behavior problem, but they’re not making progress and the school system is unable to meet their needs.”

The Harbour School is a self-paced school, she said, where students are learning at a pace that is “challenging but not overwhelming.” They do not focus on what grade their students are in and instead make sure they are completing the required courses to ultimately graduate with a high school diploma from their home school district.

“That’s just the nature of our kind of school,” Butler said. “The goal is to not limit a student’s potential for achievement by saying they only have four years in high school because students can have longer in high school.”

“Our goal is to help our kids with academics, with social skills, social-emotional skills, and then set kids up for post-secondary success,” she said.

Danyele has grown a lot since her first exhibit in 2022, Dana Holland said. It was challenging for Danyele to speak about her work beyond the artist statement that she is required to submit to these competitions. The statement helps explain what the artwork is about, but the judges also want each artist to hold a conversation with them about the piece.

John Sonnier, Danyele’s coach for the exhibit, has watched her work through these challenges.

“She’s willing to take chances,” he said. “Painting is storytelling, and an artist statement isn’t the only way to tell the story. Since then she gained a lot of confidence to hold these conversations rather than relying on the statement as a script.”

Despite Danyele not placing in the final completion, Dana Holland said that it made her and her family happy to watch her come out of her shell in Boston this year. Where she was a little more reserved in Atlantic City, Dana Holland said Danyele was bolder in Boston, talking with the other students and judges.

“She just had fun which made us smile,” she said.

Danyele is set to graduate in 2025. She said that she is currently looking for art colleges that can continue to train her and teach her how she can build a career off of commissioning her artwork.