05/11/2026
This is my sweet daughter. If you could take a moment to vote for her painting, that would mean the world to us. ๐
Congratulations to Paisley Harlan! Her painting, "The Warning" was selected to represent the state of Utah in the Celebrate the West art competition hosted by the Western Governors' Association.
Voting is open now for the contest's People's Choice Award. You can cast your vote at https://foundation.westgov.org/celebrate-the-west .
Paisley drew inspiration for the painting from a photo her grandfather took after tracking and treeing a mountain lion in the western backcountry.
"Suspended between earth and sky, the lion holds its groundโnot in defeat, but in defiance," according to a description of the painting. "Its gaze is steady, alert and unmistakably clear: this is not surrender, but a boundary."
"The Warning" is intended to explore the tension between human presence and wild instinct, and serves as a reminder of the respect, distance, and unspoken understanding required to coexist with something untamed.
Paisley is pictured with UHS Vice Principal Scott Mansfield, UHS art teacher Chris Manwaring, and Uintah School District Arts Coordinator Jim Munford.