May 8, 2026 – “I’ve been drawing since I could pick up a pencil,” says Caprock Senior Talia Sandoval.

As a Blank Spaces intern, Talia leaves her imprint all over town in the group’s colorful murals.

“We're working on a mural for the 100th anniversary of Route 66. We're collaborating with National Geographic to do interviews on people who've traveled Route 66 and have really interesting stories,” says Talia.

The mural will be the largest in the Panhandle.

But maybe even more famously, Talia tagged her home turf at Caprock in an iconic way. Talia is the artist behind the school’s vibrantly painted fiberglass horse, part of the “Hoofprints of the American Quarter Horse” city-wide public art display.

Bringing the two-dimensional drawing to life on a three-dimensional object was a long process.

“There were three of us painting it, and it took about a month. Honestly, it was really crazy to see that flat horse design go to a real horse,” says Talia. “But I get a lot of recognition for it. ‘Oh yeah, that’s the girl who painted the horse,’” she laughs.

Along with Blank Spaces mural projects, Talia is currently working on another horse design at the Tri-State Fairgrounds. And she just brought home a perfect score and a Gold Seal Medal from the State Visual Arts Scholastic Event (VASE). For her submission, Talia used dip pens and ink to meticulously create a self-portrait entirely in dots. A perfect score at the state competition is something, but the Gold Seal Medal is awarded to fewer than 7% of the thousands of state-qualified pieces.

Talia wants to continue her art career after graduation and plans to follow another creative path, becoming a hairstylist.

“Graduation is definitely bittersweet, especially because of all the things I’ve learned and accomplished here,” she acknowledges.

And then, there’s that horse, a tangible legacy standing proudly in front of the school.

“I’m protective of it. I’m going to miss it when I’m gone. Don’t mess with my horse,” laughs Talia.