Fresh Paint: Oklahoma City Thunder and OKC nonprofit team up for Festival of Arts murals
The sight of fresh paint literally and figuratively brightens a narrow room inside the Oklahoma City Farmers Public Market on an early March evening.
Sitting quietly in a corner alongside two members of her staff, Arts Council Oklahoma City Executive Director Angela Cozby watched as five Oklahomans transformed plain 8-foot-by-8-foot panels into large-scale works of art for the Fresh Paint OKC mural project.
"We are excited to once again partner with the Oklahoma City Thunder to showcase the outstanding work of Black, Indigenous and artists of color who represent the beauty found in the diversity of our community," Cozby told The Oklahoman.
A partnership between Arts Council OKC and the OKC Thunder, the Fresh Paint OKC program gives young Oklahoma artists from underrepresented communities a chance to literally expand their skills by creating murals, often for the first time.
Every year, Arts Council OKC seeks applicants for the mural project, selecting five Sooner State artists between the ages 18 and 25 who are Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian or otherwise people of color. The Fresh Paint artists get the chance to work with experienced local muralists — Denise Duong and Jaiye Farrell are the mentors for this year's program — as they accept the challenge of painting murals of their own.
Fresh Paint murals to be displayed during downtown OKC's Festival of the Arts
Arts Council OKC launched the inaugural Fresh Paint mural contest in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Fresh Paint program continued through 2022 as part of the long-running Opening Night New Year's Eve event.
When Arts Council OKC decided last year to eliminate Opening Night, the fledgling Fresh Paint mural project, was moved to the organization's flagship event, the downtown OKC Festival of the Arts.
"We're really excited to continue the Fresh Paint project on the festival grounds," Festival of the Arts Director Seth Lewis told The Oklahoman. "We've had such great success with the Thunder on the Fresh Paint mural project that we're moving it to the festival where it can get more visibility and really showcase these young, up-and-coming artists."
Launched in 1967, the Festival of the Arts annually draws more than 550,000 visitors from across the state and even around the world. The 58th annual Festival of the Arts is set for April 25-28 in and around Bicentennial Park, Colcord and Couch drives and City Hall lawn. Debuting this year as a cashless four-day event with longer hours, the venerable "rite of spring" also will feature the Fresh Paint OKC murals for the first time.
The OKC Thunder also is helping to introduce this year's Fresh Paint artists — Esther Velasco, Makiya Deerinwater, Syon Houston, Adamaris Rodriguez and Huey Robinson — to their playoffs-enthused audience.
Voting for the Fresh Paint OKC mural contest is open at https://www.nba.com/thunder/artscouncil. Here's what you need to know about this year's Fresh Paint artists:
Syon Houston explores 'Fortitude' and patience in new piece
OKC artist Syon Houston, 24, started drawing and painting at the age of 19 as a way to battle mental illness. In the past five years of creating as a self-taught artist, he said he has learned patience and trusting the process.
A self-described "giant art nerd," he based his Fresh Paint mural on a Tarot card.
"It's from this Chinese Tarot deck that I got a while ago at the vintage mall. It's called 'Fortitude,'" he said, showing off the card. "It's going to really show that what I love in human beings is when they have status, power, anything — or even just higher intelligence — but they remain kind to everyone."
Inspired by the large-scale portraits of his favorite artist, Casey Baugh, Houston said he decided to take a chance on creating his first mural through the Arts Council OKC program.
"This is the biggest thing I've done. ... The proportions of the face, that's the biggest challenge. It's a big jump. It's fun; however, if those are proportions are just a little bit off, it's like, 'Oh, no,'" said Houston, who briefly studied architecture at Oklahoma State University.
"That's why I said patience — it's required."
Adamaris Rodriguez showcases women in her work
Latina artist Adamaris Rodriguez, 24, of OKC, has created art since she was a little girl. She became a full-time artist in 2020 and especially loves painting portraits.
"I'm big on painting women. ... It doesn't matter the age, the race, the size, I love painting all kinds. I think that's important, because it shows inclusivity in my own work, and that's really important to me," said the Mexican-American artist.
"I really wanted to still do that for this (mural), while capturing my own cultural background."
Titled “Para Adelante," which translates to "moving forward," the Northwest Classen High School graduate's mural depicts an older Latina woman facing forward.
"I don't just paint women, but I also tell a story," she said. "This one is about pushing forward through obstacles that you go through. The way she's posed has a lot to do with that; it's symbolic. The flowers represent beauty, and hummingbirds are known for fierceness, devotion, love."
Although she's painted a few murals and participated in the OKC Mural Challenge at the Oklahoma State Fair, she applied in 2023 for Fresh Paint. She didn't get accepted, so she tried again and was picked for this year's project.
"I only have a handful under my belt, but I see progress with every single one," she said. "It's a little intimidating at first ... but it's very fun to be able to really get the good detail enlarged. So, I do very much enjoy it."
Makiya Deerinwater unites her mural with her Cherokee culture
Cherokee traditional and digital artist, Makiya Deerinwater, 20, is based in Tahlequah, where she is a full-time student at Northeastern State University working on her bachelor's degree in fine arts with an emphasis on graphic design. For work, she creates illustrations for the Cherokee Nation Language Department.
Titled "Unity," her mural depicts four turtles, each with a different colored shell ― black, white, red and yellow — circling a fire. The large-scale painting also depicts one way she's been tapping into her Cherokee culture lately.
"One of the ways that I've been reconnecting is with our stomp dance. That is something that I've always known about, my grandpa would take me there, but he's no longer with me anymore," she said.
Turtles are important in the stomp dance, she said, as the women wear turtleshell shakers around their legs.
"The shell rattles, that's what keeps the beat. The men will sing, but we keep the beat. We keep that rhythm. And that's what the turtles represent in my piece. The turtles are going counterclockwise around the fire, like we usually do in the dance. ... They're four different colors, which are the medicine wheel colors," she said.
"The medicine wheel, in general, is a representation of the life cycle ... of people and everything on Earth."
"Unity" is the first mural she's ever painted.
"I knew nothing about doing murals. ... A mural is something that I've wanted to do, but never had the opportunity to. So, whenever I saw the call for (Fresh Paint) mural artists, I decided to go for it," she said.
"The biggest painting I had ever done is a 36-by-24 inch. So, this is very big in comparison. It's a big step for me and a challenge. But it's a good challenge."
Huey Robinson's Fresh Paint project reveals his interest in ancient Egypt
Born, raised and based in OKC, Huey Robinson, 25, said he had already decided 2024 would be his year for murals when he was accepted into Fresh Paint.
"I've been drawing my whole life, I started selling artwork in 2020 at my first artist market, and I've been doing it ever since. I got back in school ... and took a color theory course. Then, I took Painting 1, and then I was started with acrylics. I started making really good stuff, and I was pretty fast. So, I was like, 'The next step's murals,'" he said.
"I had already enrolled into a mural painting course that I'm currently in now. ... So, this was perfect."
The Northeast Academy graduate is studying at Rose State College with plans to go on to the University of Central Oklahoma and hopes of eventually attending graduate school at historically Black Howard University in Washington, D.C.
His Fresh Paint project is inspired by his lifelong fascination with color, his love for the late Japanese manga artist artist Akira Toriyama and his interest in the culture of ancient Egypt, although he prefers to refer to it as "Kemet," a name given to the African country by its ancient Indigenous inhabitants.
"Black culture is definitely tied into ancient Kemet, and there's a lot of hidden information about Black people in it that's starting to be revealed," he said.
His mural depicts the falcon-headed deity Horace and his antagonistic uncle, Set.
"It's actually just like 'The Lion King' story," he said. "But it represents the eternal battle between higher self and lower self, love and hate, and just the eternal war that we deal with, not only as humanity but just in life in general. The cycle of life is life and death."
Esther Velasco scales up a happy childhood memory for her new mural
Esther Velasco, 24, a Mexican-American artist and graphic designer based in and from OKC, has been an artist since she was a child. She studied graphic design at the UCO and graduated in 2021.
"I've always wanted to explore doing a mural, so I was like, 'This is a good opportunity,' I wanted more than anything for it to be a learning experience for me, like 'Oh, how do I make an idea bigger?' And then I just like to challenge myself," said Velasco, who works at Modern Species, a design agency focused on sustainable brands.
Her mural taps into a happy childhood "core memory" of wearing her late father Antonio's cowboy hat while riding on his shoulders.
"It's pretty inspired by my dad, and whenever I was little, I had the classic Dora haircut that a lot of Mexican girls have," she said with a laugh.
"They're both still ambiguous, though, on purpose, because I feel like it's also a perfect Oklahoman look."
Festival of the Arts
When: April 25-28.
Where: Bicentennial Park, Colcord and Couch drives, and City Hall lawn.
Admission: Free.
Fresh Paint OKC mural voting: https://www.nba.com/thunder/artscouncil.
Information: https://www.artscouncilokc.com/festival-of-the-arts.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Thunder's Fresh Paint project helps artists of color make murals
