The Art of Paula

Paula+Achang

Paula Achang

Valeria Torrealba, Staff Writer

Charcoal dust stains the already exhausted hands of the bilingual artist as she paints a scenery consisting of the normal scenarios in Texas. Two horses, a couple of young girls and the sky clear of spongy clouds spill onto the once-white canvas that the creative and intelligent senior sprawls her creativity on. A National Honor Society member, a bilingual native Spanish speaker, a talented artist, an older sister, an adored friend and Chinese food lover — that’s what makes up the art of Paula Achang.

“I have been speaking English since 2007,” Achang said. “I’ve been learning since I was 8, so, about nine years. It’s funny, when I get nervous, my Spanish accent comes out.”

Achang was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela. She migrated to Humble, Texas at just 8 years old. Having lived there for three years, she moved back to her native country, only to find herself moving back to Texas in 2012. She has been in Katy ever since — drawing, painting and creating her art. Achang has had one of her paintings make it to the rodeo competition; she has also sold her favorite charcoal piece at an auction for $3,000. During her freshman year, Achang won a gold medal for her piece. When she was a sophomore, she earned a blue ribbon, despite not making it all the way to Houston.

“I didn’t make it all the way to rodeo that time,” Achang said. “But my piece ended up selling at the Fort Bend County Fair for about three grand, which was my biggest ever.”

Achang took the decision to quit art during her junior year due to academic priorities, but recently picked it up again at the beginning of her senior year.

“I had to keep up with my credits, such as Health and Physical Education,” Achang said. “But I just recently got back into it this year. I hope I get to go to Houston this year and win something. I want to get popular, I want my art to get popular.”

When she is not painting and drawing, yet still doodling in her notebooks, Achang enjoys blogging and studying, preparing for her future. With college application deadlines approaching, Achang finds herself spending more and more time deciding what she wants to do for her college career.

“Right now, I just want to go to a college in Texas. I don’t want to go out of state,” Achang said. “I don’t want to be away from my family, I want to stay and be close to them. I want to go into Health, most likely.”

The future remains undecided for Achang as she continues to pursue her talents and intelligence. Where she will be in a little less than a year is uncertain — for now, Achang will focus on her art and living in the moments that senior year has to offer for her.