Eight students submitted their artwork to the 2022 San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Western Art Contest which is held annually in early December. Three students, sophomore Cheyenne McBane, senior Nicole Nixon, and senior Charis Marin Ramon placed and won ribbons for their artwork.
The contest is open to high school students currently enrolled in one of the 159 eligible school districts and those attending a private school or homeschooled in one of the 48 eligible counties. The Western Art Committee’s mission is to support the education of the youth of Texas through its western art contest which encourages an appreciation of our western heritage. They created the following guideline as to what would be considered Western Art: “Western art is representational of the heritage, lifestyle, and landscapes of the American West, both historical and present day.”
“I actually went to my uncle’s farm in the summer and I took pictures because I did this competition last year and I knew I wanted to try and be better, which I did,” Nixon, who placed third said. “Starting the process, I was going to just copy off the photograph, but then Mrs. Thomas talked about this technique, grisaille.”
By definition, Grisaille is a painting technique by which an image is executed entirely in shades of gray and usually severely modeled to create the illusion of sculpture. Nixon selected raw umber instead of gray to create her piece, which she called “Cavallo”. Ramon also experimented with acrylic paint, a medium she wasn’t used to, and also got third place for her piece, “Never Forgotten.”
“I actually got the picture from my brother, and he put his hat over a post in honor of my grandfather that passed away a couple of years ago,” Ramon said. “This painting is more to honor my grandfather than to compete. I wasn’t expecting anything, I just did it because I wanted to paint the hat. I didn’t know I could get something for what I painted, but I had fun doing it. I think everyone should try and compete because sometimes you’re really good and you’re just underestimating yourself.”
McBane also participated in this competition last year but was originally disqualified for submitting a piece that was created digitally rather than through a physical medium. McBane re-did her piece, “Burning Dreamcatchers”, to fit regulations and was able to place 2nd.
“When I was looking at previous art pieces from years before, I thought it was a pretty boring competition at first, but then I was looking at what was allowed and I didn’t see many native-american pieces at all so I submitted mine,” McBane said. “I was excited when I found out I won, not so much for the money aspect, I was just happy that I won. It’s such a big competition, like all over the state, and it just felt good to know that something I made won. People see it, they know it exists, it just means a whole lot to me.”