When the artist gazed at the photo captured by her father, she saw a poignant scene vividly illuminated under the lights: a mother cow lovingly caressing a calf nestled in a pile of hay. However, when 16-year-old Sophie Zhou picked up her brush to depict this touching moment, what she wanted to convey was the profound bond of “heartstrings” between them.
After about 70 hours of painstaking creation, Sophie Zhou, a junior at Kinkaid School in Houston, completed this unforgettable canvas oil painting, which went on to win the top prize at this month’s Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The painting set a record at auction, selling for $276,000.
Sophie Zhou told The Epoch Times, “The reference photo was actually taken by my dad while we were traveling on a highway in Texas. I found the photo very beautiful, highlighting the intimate relationship between the mother cow and the calf under the play of light.”
Sophie Zhou has been drawing since she was very young, around six years old, and started learning painting at a Chinese school. In her award-winning Western-themed piece “Nurture,” she applied the basic principles of oil painting. Her technique involves sketching a simple outline with a pencil on the canvas and layering on paint gradually. She outlines the shapes and colors first before adding layers of increasingly intricate details.
She revealed that a painting usually takes her 20 to 30 hours, but this particular cow piece for the rodeo school art auction was special. She began working on this painting in May of last year and only completed the final touches around December.
She shared, “I thought this piece suited the rodeo art competition very well. I really wanted to capture the light in a special way, which was crucial for me, so I spent a lot of time color-mixing and focusing on the details.”
Sophie Zhou plans to invest $38,000 from her prize money in Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and stocks.
Her artwork was displayed in the NRG Center during the 2025 rodeo, which ran from March 4th to March 23rd.
Sophie Zhou mentioned that she has always been interested in Western culture. Currently, she and her classmates are studying American history, learning about westward expansion and early cowboy history.
However, Sophie Zhou’s portfolio is not limited to Western themes. She also enjoys creating portraits and wildlife paintings. Her piece “Summertime Sass” won a gold award at the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, capturing the summer vibe of an Asian girl sipping cola on a hot day.
In another of Sophie Zhou’s artworks, a dual portrait titled “Just Like Day One,” a lovely elderly couple is depicted enjoying Chinese dumplings together, exuding warmth.
Despite her passion for art, Sophie Zhou plans to pursue a more academic path after graduating high school. She said, “My dream universities include the University of Chicago, where I intend to study corporate law or knowledge in banking and investments.”
She added, “Painting will certainly remain a hobby for me throughout my life because I truly enjoy it, and it brings me happiness.”
Now that Sophie Zhou has completed her junior year studies, she has started doing portrait commissions on the side. Next year will be her final year in high school, and she plans to participate in the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s student art competition again, marking her third and final time entering the event.