Lila Good won an art contest she didn't know she had entered.

Her watercolor painting was chosen as the artwork featured on the front of Solanco School District's Christmas card.

"I had no idea about (the Christmas card competition) until (teacher) Ms. (Shannon) VanGyzen told me in mid-November that mine was selected," Lila said. "I was happy. I didn't really understand what (the contest) was, but I do now."

Lila used a photograph she had taken as a guide for the painting she made in February as part of a class assignment. "We had to do watercolor landscapes, so I chose a picture that I took that I liked of my driveway," she said.

Humble by nature, Lila stated that she wasn't sure how good the painting was. "I feel like when you make something, you can never truly look at it how someone else would, and you can't tell how good it is or how bad it is or anything," she said.

While Lila was uncertain about the quality of her work, no one else seemed to be. "Watercolor is known for being one of the most unforgiving of painting mediums because it builds with transparent layers, allowing little to no room for mistakes," said VanGyzen. "In 'Winter Driveway,' Lila captures the quiet beauty of an overcast winter day with a really thoughtful sense of color. However, what stands out most is how she handled the snow. She used the untouched white of the paper to achieve its brightness, a choice that requires careful planning and an impressive level of restraint for an artist her age."

After attending Solanco High full time as a freshman and sophomore, Lila is being homeschooled in her junior year but does come to the school every other weekday for an art class. She noted that the school's art teachers make the trip worthwhile. "I think Ms. VanGyzen is a really good teacher," said Lila. "I think she understands how to help us, and everything she teaches is for a reason, like learning how to do value with white charcoal instead on black paper instead of white paper with black charcoal, so you can understand how the light works and everything."

Lila also enjoys other instruments besides a paint brush. "I really like to work with colored pencils, and I made a drawing of flowers with just red, blue, and yellow, and I like how it turned out," she said.

Lila, who remembers being about 5 years old when she discovered she enjoyed art, last year captured a Gold Award for a portrait she did of a friend. She is considering studying art in college and making a career out of it.

"I don't know what else I would do," she said. "I don't want to be an art teacher, but I definitely want to have art somewhere in (my life)."