Artist’s work brightening Westchase District
An artist is turning dull urban infrastructure in Houston’s Westchase District into outdoor works of art.
It is just past noon and artist Larry Crawford is working in the heat of the day to draw a wooden bridge on the concrete surface of a box culvert at the west end of Library Loop Trail.
The 1.35-mile trail runs along a creek between South Wilcrest Drive and Rogerdale Road just north of Richmond Street in Houston’s Westchase District.
With a tray of paints in one hand, Crawford squints under the brim of his sun hat while using his other hand to paint an outdoor mural.
The wooden bridge is a rustic image for the park-like urban environment that serves as a refuge for some wildlife. The image Crawford is creating on the culvert includes trees and rocks, and the artist said he wants to add pictures of turtles and birds — animals he has seen along the creek.
“I’m finishing up the bridge today,” Crawford said, adding that he should be finished with the mural by Saturday.
In addition to the culvert box painting, another billboard size mural is to be painted along the creek’s bank at a later date. Plus, Crawford recently painted murals on five traffic control boxes — those plain metal boxes that sit at most intersections in the Westchase area.
While working on the paintings, the artist has become a familiar sight, spending approximately 2 ½ days on each mural. He often is spotted wearing his sun hat, shorts and a neon yellow safety vest. Crawford said motorists often honk and wave as they drive by his work sites. Some stop to say hello.
“People will stop, get out of their car and come over and talk to me while I’m painting these traffic boxes,” he said. “They want to take pictures
and share that they got the artist painting the boxes.”
The unadorned metal cabinets contain electrical equipment that operates traffic lights. There are an estimated 40 control boxes in the 4.2-squaremile Westchase District, a municipal management district funded by local property owners. The district is shelling out $1,000 per mural. The district’s beautification program’s art budget is providing the funding.
The Westchase District murals are hoped to bring some visual appeal to what can be described as visually bland intersections. Given that some mathematicians estimate that commuters spend 1,305 hours per year at red lights, the art could provide a change of scenery for many.
“The traffic box murals give Westchase District a unique opportunity to add art to the public realm,” according to a news release issued by the municipal district May 25 to announce the project. “And the two murals along the trail add art to a trail that is regularly used by walkers, runners and cyclists.”
Louis Jullien, Westchase District’s projects director, said the district’s mission is to increase the economic value of the area to attract more business and retail. Art, he said, is a major component of that undertaking.
“We recently had some focus groups held in which a bunch of developers attended,” Jullien said. “We’ve done $500,000 landscaping projects along Beltway 8, but the one thing they all agreed on was the traffic signal control box murals. It is pretty cool knowing that developers are looking at that type of thing.”
The mural project, Jullien said, also helps develop a sense of “live, work, play” in the business management community that includes a mix of residential and retail.
The five traffic control box murals Crawford painted are not the first in the Westchase area.
A box at the corner of Richmond Avenue and Rogerdale Road was painted by artist Anat Ronen in November. She crafted a rendering of Gulf Coast wildlife.
The art project was so well-received by the Westchase District’s board of directors and community members that Jullien began looking for more locations and a cost-effective way to bring more outdoor murals to the area. The district’s long-term plan is to paint as many of the area’s traffic control boxes as the city of Houston will allow.
“There are many we can’t do right now just because of future projects, for example, Walnut Bend Lane, Westheimer Road and Gessner Road, we have roadway construction projects planned for all of those streets,” Jullien said. “Thereforem the city of Houston won’t allow us to paint those. But we’ve got about four more that Larry will be giving us some renderings for in the next three or four weeks that we’ll get the approval of from the city of Houston.”
Crawford is from the Alief area. He graduated from Alief Hastings High School. He has worked as a professional artist for 15 years and focuses his career in painting murals.
“He has done a fantastic job, and he has brought a different flare and flavor to the projects,” Jullien said, adding that Crawford has a “knack for fine detail.”
In addition to his work for the Westchase District, Crawford has done work for various restaurants throughout the Houston area, for Texas Children’s Hospital and for the homes of his private clients. He also has been featured on “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” a television show that featured designers racing the clock to completely renovate a house and landscape for a deserving family.
Jullien said each of the murals incorporates the surrounding culture of their locations. A traffic box in front of Paul Revere Middle School, 10502 Briar Forest Drive, has a patriotic theme of red, white and blue and features the America flag, fireworks and baseball. Crawford drew a young Paul Revere dressed in the middle school campus’ baseball uniform.
That is Jullien’s favorite traffic box mural.
Or is it the one located at Richmond and Woodland Park where Crawford drew flamingos on a beach setting?
“So that is my second or first favorite,” Jullien said. “Those two are my favorite.”
Crawford said with each mural he paints for the district; he tries to play off the area they are located. He is hoping not only will the paintings bring some joy to commuters but that they will help Houston become known as a public art destination.
“Philadelphia is known for its murals, and it would be great for Houston to pick it up,” he said. “Where ever you go you see something great and grand on a wall. People take pride in their community.”
Last year, the city of Houston established a “minimurals” program, during which artists painted dozens of traffic signal control boxes in southwest Houston.
The program was coordinated by Noah Quiles and his wife Elia, owners of UP Art Studio.
The city owns approximately 2,400 traffic control boxes. During the first phase of the program, artists painted about 31 of them.