Texas artists honor the Uvalde victims with 21 murals they hope will help healing

https://www.npr.org/2022/08/20/ [login to see] /texas-artists-honor-the-uvalde-victims-with-21-murals-they-hope-will-help-healin
Artists from across the state have come together in this small southwest Texas town to honor the 19 students and two teachers killed in late May at Robb Elementary School. They've painted giant portraits of each victim with the hope of helping the community heal.

It's a huge endeavor at any time, but most especially during Texas in August.

It's morning time but already sweltering just off Uvalde's pecan tree-lined town square. The artist who goes by the name Uloang, has been up all night painting, to avoid the blistering midday sun.

"I'm half awake!" he said.

A few hours earlier, he'd put the finishing touches on a 20-by-20-foot portrait of Maranda Mathis on the side of an office building. She's one of the fourth-graders killed at Robb Elementary School.

"As I was painting her face, and once I felt like I was getting her smile down, I could see her personality coming through," Uloang said. "And I just kind of felt like, 'Oh, hi, Maranda! There you are.' And I could barely hold it together. Definitely shed a few tears."