Monongahela teen transfers happiness to canvas
Christopher Buckley|Herald-Standard
Eva Vogt’s painting “Happy Hares” is in contention for the People’s Choice Award in the Mid-Mon Valley Cultural Trust inaugural art contest.
Christopher Buckley|Herald-Standard
Eva Vogt discusses her painting “The Wandering Mind” with her father, Al. It won the Silver Key Award and the Scholastic Art Competition held at California University of Pennsylvania in January.
When Eva Vogt was in a preschool program, she would bide time before each day began drawing with markers in the classroom.
A love of art was born.
It was something that made her happy. Just like the animals which sprawl her canvas.
So when the 14-year-old Monongahela girl was looking for inspiration for her entry into the Mid-Mon Valley Cultural Trust inaugural arts competition, it didn’t take her long to find what brings her “happiness.”
Fittingly, the Mon Valley Cultural Arts began accepting entries on March 20, International Happiness Day, through June 17. While judging by age group has been completed, the People’s Choice Award is still up for grabs. It will be determined by online voting at www.mmvct.org.
Eva’s work — “Happy Hares” — is up for the People’s Choice Award.
The painting is modeled after two of the rabbits she raises.
“I first had to decide what makes me happy,” said Eva, who will be a freshman at Ringgold High School in the fall. “Animals, I love them, so I chose rabbits.”
The work started as rough sketches, detailing the animals’ anatomies, then determining the fur colors.
The sketches evolved into the painting. The whole process took parts of four days on and off, to complete.
Animals and art have been making Eva happy much of her life.
One of her first paintings involved a dolphin being rode by a person against the backdrop of the ocean.
“I thought it was magnificent, but it probably was not so great,” Eva says with a laugh.
“But my mom has been super supportive. She laminated it. I still have it.”
A former 4-H Club member, she has shown her rabbits in the Washington County Fair in 2014 and 2016 as well as entering her art.
Eva raises seven rabbits at her Monongahela home, including the two which were the inspiration for “Happy Hares.”
“I love animals,” Eva said. “I think I get a fair amount of inspiration from animals. There are so many different textures and scales and their body positions.”
Eva said she loves the solitude of painting.
“You can express what you’re feeling while playing with different colors,” Eva said. “I paint whenever I feel motivated, like when it’s late and I can’t sleep.”
Beside painting, Eva is a member of the Ringgold Middle School track and field team and swims for the Mon Valley Sharks swim team.
Al and Peggy Vogt adopted Eva and her sister, Anna, more than a decade ago.
Anna, who was born in 2001, joined the family when she was 9 months old. Born in 2003, Eva was just 14-months-old when she came to the city.
They were both born in China. The Vogt’s went to Hong Kong to adopt Anna and to Beijing to adopt Eva.
“You’re focused on growing your family,” Al Vogt said. “It was the experience of the culture of the country, which has a long history. The people were very friendly and helpful, but the government does control everything.”
Eva does not have a recollection of China because she was so young when she came to the U.S. She feels at home in Monongahela, and in her art.
“I love the creativity, the idea I can create wonderful things,” Eva said.
And her art is maturing as well.
Her painting, “The Wandering Mind,” illustrates that creativity. The freewheeling colors shapes of the mind of the model in the painting contrast the person, who is painted in gray.
“It resembles the mind,” Eva said. “It shows how creative and expressive we are. I wanted to get some realism, but abstract. I liked expressing how the mind works.”
The painting won the Silver Key Award and the Scholastic Art Competition held at California University of Pennsylvania in January.