ODESSA, Texas — Art is something that lasts forever.
"And it just became more of a passion than a hobby," New Tech Odessa Senior Isabella Moreno said.
"It's a way to explain myself when you have trouble talking or showing yourself," Odessa High student Gabriel Mendez said. "You can show it through art."
ECISD’s most artistic seniors got to display their artwork one last time as high schoolers Tuesday night.
Art students from OC Tech, OCA, Odessa New Tech, Odessa High and Permian had their art showcased at the ECISD Visual Arts Advanced Academic Art Exhibition.
And with graduation just around the corner for these students, that doesn’t mean their passion for art has to stop.
Case in point, Odessa Collegiate Academy Senior Seth Borgman will be pursuing that passion right here at UTPB.
"I'm going to be an art teacher," Borgman -- soon to be Mr. Borgman -- said. "So, I love art. I have a passion for it, and I want to be able to share that with others."
Inspiration can spur from anything, positive or negative. Just ask Permian High Senior Alejandra Nunez.
"The representation of this is about pomegranates," Nunez said. "I know pomegranates are used now a lot in symbolism, but I did this after a breakup I had so I felt that was kind of the way I could represent it."
Showing that if you're going through a hard time, art can help you get through it.
"I use it as like, a therapy for me," Nunez said. "Even though sometimes-- most of the times-- I get very stressed when doing my work, but at the end of the day when it's finished, I'm like 'this is great'. And I think that's what gives me happiness."
Nunez is the type to have her art have double meanings.
"I just like for people to be confused of my art," Nunez said. "I like when people don't know what's really going on or the meaning behind it."
The art that makes people think tends to be the ones that get the most attention.
And sometimes to make other people think, you have to think.
And most of that thinking tends to be outside of the box.
"And I also wanted it to stand out compared to everything else."
Just like New Tech Odessa Senior Isabella Moreno.
"So, I figured why not have actual wax dripping off of her shoulders," Moreno said. "And it took me hours to get the wax the way I wanted. [...] I didn't think I was going to be able to actually finish her the way I wanted. But she came up so much better than what I thought she was going to do."
These artists say those surprising art pieces are the best ones.
Because every artist's first masterpiece is a surprise.
"I think every artist is once an amateur," Nunez said. "And we always start from the bottom somewhere. Not everyone is born Picasso or Van Gogh."
"Whether you think you're good or bad, everyone has a level of art that they can create," Borgman said. "And it doesn't matter if it's stick figures, or it doesn't matter if it's elaborate paintings. If it's something you want to pursue and something you enjoy, go for it."
And going for it, could change your life.
"It's just brought me so much joy and definitely so much more confidence as I progress," Moreno said. "And it it's just my life. To me, that's what art is to me."