Painting Austin

At the mention of Austin, music most likely comes to mind. I tell outsiders (those unfortunate ones who have never touched the Austin city borders) I'm from Austin, and I always get the same reply; "Oh, I hear Austin is so cool! There's a lot of music there, right?" This redundant remark on what my city is apparently about becomes annoying, but at least Austin's reputation is a pretty fantastic one. Music in Austin is thriving, from SXSW and Austin City Limits, to all corners of the city and all corners of the inner city streets, with multiple eccentric genres. Yet, this city has left quite a bit of room for other artistic expressions. Austin loves film. Austin loves writing. Austin loves bathing in hundreds of shades of paint. Across the city, creeping in alleys or spread across an entire block, there's walls and trains and buildings covered in art. It's a free outdoor art show. Walking around Austin is like walking straight into a massive mural.

Focus One Point And Breathe

The Union Pacific bridge runs high above Lady Bird Lake and lines the Austin skyline. This train bridge apparently was a perfect spot for a graffiti artist to paint away. It's one chunk of art that has snuggled itself into the Austin scene, and most likely won't be painted over without an Austinite dispute. Those lazily canoeing under the bridge will have a simple meditative cue as they pass: Focus one point and breathe.

Local To Global: Dream, Imagine, Create. HOPE

Right off South Lamar, there's a site nestled at Baylor Street and 11th that would give any graffiti artist an itch to make their mark. This landmark is an outdoor gallery project, Local To Global, founded by HOPE (Helping Other People Everywhere). The hill is steep and the layout is rigid; it looks like a building was ripped from the ground, leaving the bare foundation of cement walls and rusted steel rebar. Every corner of every cement wall is covered in paint, and the best graffiti artists in Austin came together to create a gallery for all of Austin to visit for free.

 i love you so much.

A simple phrase painted to express one's love to her partner turned out to be part of South Congress's icons. This graffiti on the side of Jo's Hot Coffee brings a smile to every passerby. The bright red words spread bright red love across South Congress, reaching every Austinite heart. In 2011, "i love you so much" was repainted due to an unfortunate night of vandalism, but still stands today.

The Austinites

In 2009 Shawn Gillespie, muralist from Louisiana, painted a depiction of what Austinites are truly all about. He was spot on! From the Austin-famous Leslie Cochran, to Save Barton Springs flyers, to film and music production, to naked local women reading Hippie Hollow brochures at a trendy cafe. Gillespie spent nearly two months painting the wall outside Hickory Street Bar and Grill on 8th and Congress, just down the road from the state capitol.

Keep Austin Green: Balcones Recycling

When driving down West Howard Lane, I tend to slow down each time while passing a line of stalled boxcars covered in graffiti. Spray-painting and tagging trains is nothing new; Graffiti on trains was a movement that began in New York as a way to advertise and spread rap, hip-hop, and graffiti artists beyond the boundaries of the Bronx. Balcones Recycling took that notion of train art by gathering Texan artists to create a burner (well-done graffiti covering an entire boxcar) on their trains, a way to get local artists painting while advertising their recycling company. Way to keep Austin green and local!

Murals On 6th

From each corner of San Jacinto and all the way down to North Lamar, murals on 6th street have recently been popping up at an intense rate, seemingly covering each crossroad and building. One of my favorite things to do while on break when working downtown is taking a long walk down 6th to catch a glimpse of the overwhelming display of art while observing the vibrant Austinites.

Renaissance On The Drag

Guadalupe Street, running alongside University of Texas, is best known as The Drag. Since the early 1970s, The Drag has gathered artists and street vendors, creating a local street market known today as the Austin Renaissance Market. It was also in the 1970s that murals popped up along the street, the most famous depicting Austin  icons and favorite geographic locations. Also on the drag are various pieces of art, including Bob Dylan and Louis Armstrong, from Federico Archuleta.

Seeking art in this ever-growing, ever developing city is easy, and each piece of outdoor art is a symbol of today's and yesterday's Austin. This city may be known for its music, but behind each musical note is a wall of paint created by and for the locals, capturing a thousand different colors and images of what Austin truly is.