The down-low on new Sims Bayou Trail murals
Need to get the family outside a few minutes this holiday weekend? Check out the new murals of local flora and fauna along the Sims Bayou Trail at 6000 Heatherbrook, in the Five Corners neighborhood of Hiram Clarke in southwest Houston.
Created by Gelson D. Lemus, who signs his work w3r3on3 (pronounced we are one), the three-part painting is dedicated to late council member Larry Green, a major supporter of civic art in his district. Unlike murals that tower high above eye level, these cover the facades of three low retaining walls, blending in with rather than popping out of their environment and allowing even the smallest viewers to appreciate the images of a duck, butterflies flitting among grasses and an ibis with a verrrrry long beak.
Council member Martha Castex-Tatum partnered with UP Art Studio, the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, the Houston Parks Board and the Harris County Flood Control District to sponsor the piece.
The recently completed 2.58mile segment of the Sims Bayou Greenway — which begins at Heatherbrook and ends at Buffalo Speedway — is just one portion of the Parks Board’s massive Bayou Greenways 2020 project. And it’s adjacent to the next major phase of trail expansions: the first recreational trail along a CenterPoint Energy easement in Houston, which will be dedicated June 8 with a day of family activities and a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4574 Simsbrook.
The new, 1.5-mile hike-andbike easement trail will connect communities north of the Sims Bayou Greenway to West Airport in southwest Houston.