Every winter, Western scenes and stress conquer the art room in anticipation for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Art Competition.
After the judging session on January 11, 10 students’ pieces advanced to be displayed at NRG Stadium. Unlike other art competitions, The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo art competition rewards students generously with opportunities; pieces that reach auction are auctioned off from $10,000 to $255,000 and students receive less than 20% of that.
The 2-D finalists are: Deborah Adebo, Stephanie Jiang, Nicholas Kahler, Hemani Koppolu, Jasmine Lang, Naomi Lee, Naomi Leong, Mary Li, Wendy Wu, and Sophia Zhang. The 3-D finalists are: Chloe Donaldson, Bentley Nguyen, Wendy Wu, and Brianna Yu.
Rodeo is recognized by its many realism pieces. This year, to diversify the entries, the judges encouraged students to take a more creative route with their pieces.
“I never would have signed up because it’s typically realism, that’s what everyones doing [so] it’s all this competition but [Mrs. Hooper] said that they wanted something different so I tried and I made it,” senior Niko Kahler said. “Despite never doing it before and not having any interest in it, I’m proud of myself.”
Kahler’s distinct art style is far from realism; his bold colors and stark linework earned him special merit, which only 14 of 25 students from the district received. He expresses appreciation to the contest for “letting people show off their work even if it’s a specific style and even doing an auction.”
“I think you can learn a lot about a person based on their piece even if they are all Western based,” Kahler said. “Every single person has their own unique vision, so it’s not only representing them as an artist but them as an individual.”
Senior Wendy Wu achieved her vision with her painting titled “Whispers of the Ancestors,” a portrait of Native Americans in their traditional garments. Through it, Wu aimed to tell the story of those native to our land who are often overlooked in American history.
“One thing that kept me motivated was, I wanted to tell these stories, these stories shouldn’t be forgotten,” Wu said. “Native Americans are not really talked about in our textbook, maybe a few chapters or so. So I really wanted to showcase that side of our Western culture.”
Similarly, senior Naomi Lee noticed the lack of representation of other ethnicities in past rodeos. She commented on her excitement to draw a boy in mariachi clothing. Despite it being her first time participating in rodeo and feeling intimidated by the competition, Lee advanced as a finalist through a larger scale color pencil piece.
“I was honestly really scared,” Lee said. “Because when I went to the gallery to see all the works I saw so many good pieces. I thought, ‘Oh my God mine isn’t even close to this, this is way more competitive than I actually thought.’”
The competition was undeniable – Kahler confesses he was impressed by the number of Clements students reaching the district level. Olivia Hooper, the art teacher, works to motivate students to try their best and fulfill their potential.
“I just hope they understand, even though it’s a lot of work and it might not be the style that people create their art in sometimes, it’s good to stretch yourselves and try,” Hooper said. “But also, there’s just so much scholarship opportunity available, and that’s really why we do this.”
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo also hosts a live quick draw contest. Just as the name suggests, artists are tasked to draw the figure presented from life within 50 minutes with a 15 minute break in between.
“I was really looking forward to being in the environment and actually competing with other people, and I was socializing with all the other people,” junior Imane Seddiki said. “As an artist, it has helped me push my skills because I clearly, just from seeing the results, I know what I can change to win next year.”
It was Seddiki’s first time being selected as a finalist by submitting her observational drawing this past November. Although Seddiki did not advance, she expresses enjoyment from the opportunity. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo art competition is more than just a competition for students, its opportunities make their hard work worthwhile.
“I’m definitely happy about how my work turned out and the results,” Wu said. “Thank goodness all those hours didn’t go to waste.”
