Jan. 12, 2023 - Canyon Lake High School art student Baten Evans made school history when his entry won first place in the 2023 San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo Western Art Contest last month, receiving a $10,000 scholarship. The winning entry, titled Rodeo Metal Rooster, took the top prize in the 3D-Other Medium category in the highly competitive contest.
“I am very appreciative for the opportunity in winning the $10,000 scholarship,” said Evans, who is a senior at CLHS. “I’m trying very hard to earn scholarships to help pay for college. This competition helped me earn a little closer to my goal of funding my college degree. I want to thank everyone including the sponsors who helped make this happen for me. It means a lot.”
The annual Western Art Contest is open to South Central Texas high school students ages 14 to 18, who are enrolled in a Texas public, private or home school. This includes 183 eligible school districts in 54 eligible counties. This year, the contest received more than 430 art entries in 12 categories.
For this contest, artists are asked to submit western art which is representative of the heritage, lifestyle and landscape of the American West, both historical and present day. Evans said that he immediately thought of a rooster.
“I made this metal sculpture of a rooster out of scrap metal from a much larger project I’m working on in my welding class,” he said. “I was going for a more abstract look, and I wanted to use various materials that I knew would complement the shape of the rooster in a unique way. It all worked out pretty well after a lot of experimenting with the scrap pieces and welding each item one at a time.
“To tie everything together, I placed my work on top of a cedar wood base that I made, and my art teacher helped me with the copper inlay.”
His art teacher, Nell Anderson, is excited and proud for Evans’ honor, but she isn’t surprised.
“He is a very hard-working student who takes every opportunity to compete in any art contest. He is genuine; has a lot of potential and is successful in whatever he sets his mind to. Two years ago, he was Canyon Lake High School’s first sophomore to take AP art and pass the exam, and now he is the first student to win the Western Art Contest.”
Two additional Comal ISD students received top 25 ribbons in the Western Art Contest including Sydney Jackson, an 11th-grade student from CLHS, and Emily Ingram, an 11th-grade student from Smithson Valley High School.
Jackson’s clay entry was titled, “Curious Jack Rabbit," and Ingram’s graphite entry was titled, “Horsing Around.”
Congratulations!
-Senior Baten Evans from Canyon Lake High School won the 2023 San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Western Art Contest, earning a $10,000 scholarship.
-Baten Evans, a senior from Canyon Lake High School accepted his award in December.
-The graphite entry by junior Emily Ingram from Smithson Valley High School was in among the Top 25 and gold ribbon winner in the 2023 San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Western Art Contest.
-The clay entry by junior Sydney Jackson from Canyon Lake High School was in among the Top 25 and gold ribbon winner in the 2023 San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Western Art Contest.