SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A South Dakota high school student’s art is going on display at the nation’s capital.

Jefferson High School freshman Isabelle Hastings is the winner of the Congressional Art Competition for South Dakota. That means her acrylic is in the national spotlight.

What started as a hobby during the pandemic, has turned into something Isabelle Hastings is sharing with the nation.

“Like I always loved doing art, but that’s when I got more serious with it. So tried to do more experimenting,” said Hastings

Through this trial and error, she discovered her passion for painting people, like the one featured in her award winning piece titled “Blushing”, a portrait of one of her friends.

“I wanted to do a person for a while, but not many people wanted to model for me,” said Hastings. “She takes photos of herself and she’s an artist in here and she has just really gorgeous eyes, so that’s one thing that really inspired me to do it was just her eyes.”

“It’s been so fun for me to see her growth, in her art and you know as a person over the year,” said Brit Carmany, Jefferson High School Visual Art Teacher.

While Hastings never expected to get national attention…

“I didn’t really believe it at first, and I still kind of don’t believe it. It doesn’t feel real yet I guess,” said Hastings.

She hopes her paintings have an impact and inspire others to do a little experimenting of their own.

“I hope when they see it, they’ll want to maybe take up art on their own and be like ‘oh I wonder if I could try to sketch or do my own painting’,” said Hastings.

The painting will be on exhibit in the capitol beginning this summer.