Several students earned awards in a local Dog Show art competition. Emily Tran, Gloria Gutierrez, and Phoenix Breland all competed in the art competition, which was held in July. Tran and Breland each got a participation award for their pieces and Gutierrez was given a merit award for her drawing.

“It took about two and a half weeks to complete,” Gutierrez said.

She has been in two other competitions, the Houston Rodeo, and a Harris County event. Going to the Dog Show helped her understand what she needed to work on with her pieces, and helped to boost her confidence. She is involved with FFA outside of school, and enjoys the monochromatic art style.

Tran submitted a scratch art piece of her dog. The inspiration for the piece was her own dog.

“Participating in the art show was good inspiration,” Tran said.

She likes the realistic style of art, and her favorite artist is Vincent Van Gogh. She has been drawing for about a year and a half, and has been continuously involved in orchestra playing the violin.

The Dog Show presented an opportunity for the students to experiment with some new art styles.

“I was sort of out of my element,” Breland said about his line drawing that he entered for the competition. It took a week or two to complete his project. He has been drawing since elementary school, but only started art classes in the eighth grade. He is still at it as a sophomore. Breland got into art through his dad, who is a tattoo artist, and through manga, which he enjoyed replicating.

Tran and Gutierrez worked under art teacher, Margaret Bennett who was also involved in the competition.

“We had thirteen total competitions last year, and they all got an award,” Bennett said.

She’s hoping for more students to join more competitions in future years.