It’s seventh period in Sarah Wyatt’s art class, and sophomore Piper Robert sits with a paintbrush in hand. With every stroke of her brush, her art comes closer to completion. She’s in the zone and nothing can stop her from finishing her piece for the Humble ISD Rodeo Art Show.
“To me, art is an expression of my creativity,” Robert said. “It allows me to show who I am through a piece of work.”
Robert’s hard work and other students’ work was showcased during the Humble ISD Rodeo Art Show, which is an annual competition for Western-themed pieces. The art pieces submitted were displayed at the Humble Civic Center Jan. 28-29. Thirty-four Kingwood Park students had their pieces on display.
Artwork that was submitted had the chance to receive awards such as Best of Show or be put up for auction. One piece that was chosen for the auction was freshman Cynthia Vital’s work titled “Mi Rancho.” Vital’s art showed a cow standing on a ranch beside a little barn. Her piece was inspired by her visits to her father’s ranch in Mexico and the beauty it showed.
“I go to Mexico every year. Sometimes we would go to my dad’s ranch, which doesn’t have any internet service or anything. So it’s really like you get to see life in El Rancho,” said Vital.
Vital’s piece was crafted using different types of coffee to create unique shades of brown. This was Vital’s first time using coffee in her artwork and was something she enjoyed while creating her piece. With her piece going to auction, Vital felt determined to continue pursuing art in the future.
“I’m very grateful for this,” Vital said. “It’s never happened to me before. It gives me more motivation to do art.”
Another student whose work earned a major award is Robert. For Robert, this competition was special as it gave her a chance to express herself through her artwork. Starting at a young age, Robert felt a strong connection and passion for art.
“Art’s special to me because it’s something I can always do,” said Robert.” If I am worried or have an assignment and I need an idea, I can rely on art because it’s a skill that I’ve built since I was a kid.”
Robert’s rodeo art piece was titled “Quick Vacay” and featured cows in a field becoming bathed in light as they are abducted by aliens. After being displayed, Robert’s piece was selected as a Finalist for Best in Show. For her piece, Robert used gouache, a highly pigmented and opaque paint, to create a contrast of dark and light colors. Robert’s piece was made to symbolize escape for both the cows getting taken to another world and for herself.
“I’ve always liked the idea of alien abductions specifically for cows because I think it’s really cute and silly,” said Robert.” I wanted to paint something that was lighthearted and fun.”
Sophomore Adriana Snider has been creating art since she was 10 years old. For her piece, titled “The Ant’s Boot,” Snider drew an ant farm inside of a cowboy boot with interior design details like bedrooms and restrooms. Snider used watercolor and acrylic paint to create her piece for the rodeo. Snider worked on her piece for two months with her efforts rewarding her with a Second Place ribbon.
“It was really cool to be patient and work on the little details of it,” said Snider.
Sophomore Precious Rhor’s piece titled “Just Buzzin’ Along,” shows a bee hovering around a set of pastel flowers. Rhor took two months to create her piece using watercolor as her primary method of painting. Having an art piece displayed last year, Rhor was excited to find out that her piece was selected to go up for auction.
“I was actually very excited, It felt unreal like I was in a dream,” said Rhor.
Art teacher Sarah Wyatt has been entering her students into the Humble ISD Rodeo Art Show since she started working at Kingwood Park four years ago. For Wyatt’s class, the Rodeo Art Show was her first project of the year. Wyatt has inspired her students, encouraging them to work hard and express their creativity to the fullest.
“Ms. Wyatt is always there for me, she helps me out a lot and she’s very helpful and kind about it,” said Rhor.
The Rodeo Art Show has been a source of excitement for the students. Wyatt and the other art teachers plan to continue entering students into the competition to give their students more chances to show off their art abilities.
“I think it’s a really good way to bring the community in, to let them see how hard our students are working and what we do in our art department,” Wyatt said.
