Big Bend Ranch Paintings in London: Uriel Uranga

Uriel Uranga's (above) "Octotillo Sunset" was made into a poster for Presidio High School's exhibition at the Saatchi Art Gallery in London, England this summer. The school was chosen from others around the world in a competition overseen by the Saatchi Art Gallery. The 11 student works were inspired by the beauty of the Big Bend region, especially Big Bend Ranch State Park and Fort Leaton State Historic Site.

Laurie Holman is the art teacher at Presidio High School. “I am an artist as well as an art teacher. I have lived in the Big Bend for 15 years and my love of the rugged beauty is often reflected in my artwork. So often in my class, the students want to paint beach scenes, cityscapes and snow covered mountains…places that most of them had never seen or been before. I tell them to paint what they know, to see their surroundings in a new and different way. So, this is what they did and with great success." The student work can be seen here.

Uranga, a Presidio High School senior, said, "Being that I am moving away soon to go to college, I will no longer have a surrounding like the Big Bend. I wanted to preserve the memory of my roots."

For more information on Big Bend Ranch State Park, visit here and here.

For more information on Fort Leaton State Historic Site, visit here and here.