In this high-tech world, Manuel S. Franco strives to keep the old traditions alive. Manuel's early inspiration came from his mother, who worked with different textures of glass, similar to the sand paintings the Native Americans created for generations. Perhaps this heritage is what inspires Manuel to pay tribute to and help preserve his Indian/Mexican heritage through his art.

His subjects include westerns, wildlife, portraiture, Native American scenes, landscapes, and still lives. He concentrates on the Southwest and the cowboy way of life (an homage to his father, who was a cowboy). He has mastered at almost all mediums--oils, pencil, pastel, and bronze--but watercolor is his favorite medium because of the fine detail he is able to achieve with it.

Manuel was born in Coyame, a small village in the state of Chihuahua in northern Mexico. He attended the University of Chihuahua, where he received a degree in Mining Engineering. After several years of working in mining in Mexico and the oil fields in Texas, Manuel found his way back to his first love—art.

Over the last 40 years, Manuel's work has gained international popularity, which has allowed him to travel throughout the USA, Canada, and Mexico and attend a wide variety of art expos and benefits. His own M.S. Franco Studio has published many of his images as limited editions and cast his sculptures in bronze, which are distributed world-wide.