Lubbock student wins art prize at stock show

Lubbock student Eric Ortiz won a prize at the Fort Worth stock show and rodeo even though he does not own or ride an animal.

Ortiz is a junior at Monterey High School and placed fourth in the high school 2-D art division. He said he has been drawing since he was about 5 or 6 and it is one of his favorite things to do.

“When I draw, it’s like I get stuff off my mind,” Ortiz said. “It just helps me focus.”

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram allows students from all over Texas to enter their art in this contest, giving them a chance to win up to $20,000 in scholarships. This year, 1,049 students entered this competition.

Ortiz said his agriculture teacher, Roger Green, told him about the Star-Telegram Stock Show Art Contest and helped him prepare to enter. His art teacher, Velma Reyna, helped him with his drawing.

Ortiz said Green, Reyna and he traveled to the Four Sixes Ranch near Guthrie, Texas, to take pictures of horses. He said an employee at the ranch helped them saddle the horse.

Ortiz said he drew a young stud named Platinum. He said once Platinum was saddled, he was tied to the side of a horse trailer. Ortiz said he took a few pictures of the horse.

Reyna said Ortiz has a natural gift for drawing. She said while most artists must use a grid to center and size their art, Ortiz does not.

“Platinum” — drawn by Eric Ortiz

“He doesn’t grid, it’s all done with his eye,” Reyna said. “He can enlarge anything by looking at it.”

Reyna said Ortiz has a talent for drawing people, too. She said he draws things with his natural sense.

Shelby McCarty, assistant art show coordinator from Fort Worth, said this contest is about encouraging people to participate in the stock show. She said one of the central themes is ‘Anyone can show at the Fort Worth stock show, you don’t have to own an animal.’

McCarty said the finalists are displayed in the Amon G. Carter concourse. She said the art displayed is part of a silent auction by smart phone, allowing spectators to bid via text on the art piece of their choice.

“The auction kicked off on Saturday, Jan. 11 at the Fort Worth grand entry gala,” McCarty said. “You text in to the number ‘68494’ and our code, which is SSART and it will send you back a ‘welcome’ text and then you can start bidding.”

Jay Blackmon, art show coordinator from Fort Worth, said the toughest part about this contest is judging the artwork because they have so many great entries.

“Well, there’s so much good art.” Blackmon said. “We’ve received over a thousand pieces of art and we use local artists that volunteer their time to come in and sit in a panel and judge, so there’s a lot of debate.”

The Guns and Roses committee is made up of 40 local artists or educators who donate their time to judge the pieces for the contest.

Blackmon said the judges will decide how they place the pieces based on how they fit into western heritage, how they represents the Fort Worth stock show, and the quality of each piece.

Ortiz said he had never taken an art class before last year, that he always drew for fun in class or at home. He said when Reyna called to tell him he was a finalist in the contest he was shocked.

Ortiz said he remembers going to horse races in New Mexico with his family, and that is one of the reasons he was inspired to draw a horse. According to ssart.auction-bid.org, Ortiz currently has the highest bid of the winning pieces at $3,250. He said he might see a future in art, and would like to save his prize money for going to college.

“Drawing horses when I was young, just made me realize how it was, just to keep drawing horses and getting more detail and better at it, that’s what inspired me.”