With 250 hours put into her painting, Eliza Hoffman spent the most painstaking hours waiting for the call with her results. However, out of around 200,000 students from private and public schools in Texas, the 17-year-old placed second winning Reserve Grand Championship Work of Art at the Rodeo Art competition. Only 72 students advance to the School Art Auction where the winning art will be determined and later displayed in the Hayloft Gallery at this year’s rodeo.

“There are so many young artists who are talented, and to know that my piece was what the judges were looking for was very humbling,” Hoffman said. “I am grateful that I was given this placement, and to know that the judges saw something to connect with in my painting is quite an honoring feeling.”

Getting to her skill level today was a meticulous journey with its ups and downs. Nevertheless, Hoffman believes there’s a valuable takeaway from every experience.

“Doing art can be very time-consuming, and that on top of schoolwork takes time out of being able to have fun with other people,” she said. “However, it’s a sacrifice that I am willing to make in the short run so that I can improve on my art in the long run.”

Despite being drawn to art from a very young age and learning from mentors, books, videos, and old artwork, her grandfather has been a huge influence along the way.

“I got to sit by him a lot and watch him paint, because he himself was an artist, so that was a huge influence on my childhood before he passed away,” she said. “He still continues to be a large inspiration in my life. Whenever I do art, I think about him.”

Hoffman is part of the Science National Honors Society, Math National Honors Society, and helps at a studio in Friendswood every week. She has also participated in various other oil-painting competitions and activities and hopes to pursue art in the future.

“It’s a creative outlet for me to express what I love and who I am,” Hoffman said. “Each study piece has its challenges, but over time, I can step back and see how much I have improved. That itself is satisfying, and this never-ending journey is what makes helps define what becoming an artist is.”

The School Art Auction is March 12th.