Question

purple field, drawing out the delicate brushstrokes in ways he’d never seen before. mateo read the signs next to the other pieces. all of them were by high school students. how had his painting ended up on the feature wall? maybe they hung up my painting first, before they received the other submissions, he thought. “mateo?” he turned to see ms. sawecki, his school guidance counselor. “do you have a painting in the show?” “um, yeah,” mateo said. he pointed and added, “it’s that one.” ms. sawecki turned to look at his painting and let out a low whistle. “wow! i assumed that was one of the entries from the senior art seminar,” she said. “pretty impressive, mateo.” mateo had always liked ms. sawecki, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that, as usual, she was just being nice. which of the following statements best describes mateo’s feelings? mateo is eager to develop new techniques as a painter. mateo is embarrassed by his interest in painting. mateo is excited to see how his paintings compare to the work of others. mateo is insecure in his abilities as an artist.

Explanation:

To determine Mateo's feelings, we analyze the text: Mateo is curious about how his painting compares to others (wondering if it's hung first), excited to see its placement, and insecure as he worries Ms. Sawecki's praise is just niceness. The option "Mateo is insecure in his abilities as an artist" aligns with his doubt about the sincerity of the praise, showing self - doubt about his art skills. Other options: "eager to develop new techniques" – no info on technique development; "embarrassed by his interest" – no embarrassment shown; "excited to see how his paintings compare" is part of his insecurity - driven curiosity, but the insecurity option better captures his self - doubt.

Answer:

Mateo is insecure in his abilities as an artist.