MURAL ART

I worked with the Lockhart Chamber of Commerce to design this mural for the city of Lockhart following their official designation as the barbecue capital of Texas. They wanted to commemorate this special title on a wall prominent to the square, embodying the heart and soul of the city. With the city name of Lockhart set subtly as the background, I used a classic western style font for the phrase text and included a longhorn from a photograph I took from my backyard in South Austin a few years prior. The native cactus with the beautiful yellow roses and bluebonnets were also added to cradle this beautiful longhorn.

My process though, it was actually the real showstopper. I used an underlying text grid that was actually a love letter to the city to set up my composition. This garnered lots of attention from passersby and even the local newspaper as they were not familiar with this process. Once the text was on the wall, I used an image overlay software that I turned every part of the letters into reference points. When the mural was complete, the entire love letter had disappeared underneath and revealed a lasting piece the city was incredibly proud to own.

Working with the Bastrop Youth Arts Council on this mural, we decided to highlight a few landmarks around Bastrop including the water tower, the famous bridge, and the beautiful lobby pines. Piggybacking on the style of my Lockhart Mural the year before, I enlarged the city name in the background and put another Texas famous longhorn in the foreground.

This layering of city landmarks with bluebonnets also in the foreground, was somewhat of a collaboration of myself, and the youth arts councils desires for the composition.This mural was painted over four days and nights in the blistering summer heat, but resulted in a landmark mural that will be an attraction for generations.

This piece titled The Yard was painted in 2023 in South Austin at the St. Elmo Arts District also known as The Yard. When given the opportunity to paint whatever I wanted, I immediately knew that I would utilize the size of the wall to shrink the viewer to give them a different perspective. Within the grass, looking up at a personalized big red wagon and walking among giant cactus and bluebonnets, the viewer ends up in some kid’s backyard with the Austin skyline peeking out from over the trees.

There is something about humanity’s relationship with our creator that can make us feel small and yet incredibly significant at the same time. I hope the colors and energy of this piece brings a warm and nostalgic joy to all who see it.