Colleen O'Brien's 'The Path of Water' Records Big Bend Geology Before Border Wall Construction

Artist Colleen O'Brien, whose practice involves painting en plein air using soil and pigments from the landscape, has created an exhibition titled 'The Path of Water' at the Museum of the Big Bend. The show documents the geology of the Rio Grande watershed from northern New Mexico to Big Bend National Park. O'Brien's work has taken on new urgency following the announcement that a border wall extension will be built through Big Bend, threatening access to sites she has painted. A third of the works in the exhibition are from locations that could be destroyed or become inaccessible due to the wall. O'Brien has been painting in Big Bend since 2021 and participated in artist residencies at Willow House in Terlingua (2022) and Big Bend National Park (2024). Her practice began in 2012 during a field season with Land Arts of the American West from Texas Tech University. She uses soil, water, and pastel to create impressions of rock surfaces, often working in rivers. The exhibition is tied to the 'Water in The Desert' conference organized by the Borderlands Research Institute. O'Brien splits her time between Big Bend and Santa Fe, New Mexico.