Tomball’s first mural already gaining steam
Residents lining up to see Mankin’s work before its completion as officials hope painting will spur art projects across city
TOMBALL—The mural isn’t even finished and already it has accomplished its task of appealing to Tomball residents.
Visitors have been seen taking selfies in front of the almost-finished mural by artist Beth Mankin on the side wall of the Tomball Marketing and Tourism Information Center at 215 W. Main. It features a Texas starburst with a locomotive engine coming through.
Mankin’s work began in July. Mankin said the piece could have been completed in about three to four weeks except for the quick showers and days of heavy rain.
A Cy-Fair High School graduate, Mankin has been drawing since she was a little girl.
“It’s always been my passion,” she said.
She attended The Art Institute of Houston and majored in fashion illustration and graphic design. After the college phased out its fashion illustration program, she switched gears to visual communication.
Mankin worked for designers illustrating their clothing for them to sell to the stores. “We would draw the clothing, the prints on the clothing and even the graphics that went on the hang tags,” she said.
She landed a great job early on working for Mike Baxter in the 1990s, who at that time worked for Splashtown. Baxter is now the director of marketing and tourism for Tomball. At Splashtown, she was commissioned to be the inhouse sign painter and graphic designer, responsible for the brochure and billboard.
“I also did murals they needed in the park and logos on the pylons that held up the rides,” she said. Those were commissioned by Pepsi-Cola, one of the park’s sponsors.
“Beth’s work was so detailed that you could see the condensation drops running down the side of the pylon. It looked so cool,” Baxter said.
Then she met mural artist Shannon O’Brien who took her under his wing and piqued her interest in the medium.
While she shadowed him and learned the techniques necessary for the new form of visual art, O’Brien introduced her to Tom Saman, the director of design at Landry’s, and she was hired to work for Landry’s as a corporate artist.
“I was traveling around from restaurant to restaurant like Joe’s Crab Shacks and other of their brands painting murals and art for them,” she said. “It was fun. I did a lot of traveling.”
She’s built her portfolio with projects at Saltgrass steakhouses and the Post Oak parking garage where each of the floors is painted with trees and designs. Mankin’s touch can also be found at Traders Village where she worked on the carousel and the mascot.
“One of the main elements of the wall mural here (in Tomball) is Rusty Rails, our tourism mascot we use for branding,” Baxter said. “When we got the mascot here 10 years ago and the concept drawings from the manufacturer, Beth took those and then added her own style to it and turned it into the image we use on business cards and marketing materials.”
After hearing presentations from several artists, Mankin was chosen, he said.
“Over the course of a year, they made changes more to what they wanted except for the starburst and the locomotive bursting through the bricks,” he said.
It’s the only mural underway by the city, but Baxter said the hope is other businesses will see it and take the lead on their own property.
“There are a lot of walls around town that are perfect for something like this,” he said.
To encourage other businesses and organizations to participate, the city has set aside approximately $10,000 in hotel tax funds to assist in funding some projects.
DaVinci Artists Gallery already has some art on the backside of its building, Baxter said, but it faces an alley.
“The city has a new alley restoration project to make it more pedestrian-friendly in downtown,” he said. When that project is completed, the art gallery’s mural will be visible to more visitors to the area.”
Mankin’s mural in Tomball is approximately 30 feet by 74 feet, just under 1,000 square feet. She uses latex and acrylic paints that are resistant to the sun’s ultraviolet rays and should last up to 10 years.
“We hope to have it ready by the first of September, depending on the weather,” Mankin said.
Find more of her work on Instagram @lilartzyb.