Ex-lineman’s murals embody school spirit
6-foot-6 Evans turning art into career
“It made me realize the scale and scope what I could create, how much of an impact a piece of artwork can have.”
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His hands searching for something to do, Aaron Evans reached for an offering envelope in the back of a pew.
As the Thanksgiving church service was in progress, the young boy was bored. He took the envelope apart, revealing its all-white interior, a blank slate.
Evans began to doodle.
“He drew a Mr. and Mrs. Turkey that were standing with the pitchfork and the hats,” said his mother, Bette Jo Broome. “It was really unique. I still have it today. I have it framed, and I take it out every Thanksgiving and enjoy it.”
Evans, who played offensive tackle at UCF from 2013 to 2017, is drawing on a much bigger canvas these days: Spectrum Stadium. Evans painted two murals on the walls of the Knights’ on-campus stadium a few weeks ago, depicting school spirit and images showcasing the football program’s success.
The murals, each about 200 square feet, were a first for Evans, 24.
“It made me realize the scale and scope of what I could create, how much of an impact a piece of artwork can have,” Evans said. “I was overwhelmed by the positive feedback, the amount of press I’ve gotten. I thought maybe it would happen. I was like, ‘Who am I? I’m just some new the art scene.’ ”
Evans is not just any new artist. Most are not 6 feet 6 and weigh 270 pounds, were three-year starters in college and went through training camp with the Philadelphia Eagles last year. Evans played for the Orlando Apollos of the Alliance of American Football, which abruptly ended after eight games last spring shortly before the league filed for guy coming onto bankruptcy.
Evans said the players were called in immediately after practice and told the AAF was no more.
“I was annoyed,” he said. “I wanted some stability. I’m investing all of myself into this whole football thing, and I keep getting kicked to the curb. I know what I’m worth. I’m worth some stabil
ity.”
As one plug was pulled, Evans saw the light. He could attempt to turn his artwork into a career.
He was inspired as a child by his mother, who used to invite friends over to her house and serve them wine and cheese while displaying her art. A big anime fan, Evans drew stick-figure comics in elementary school (“They were a little violent,” he said, laughing. “I was a destructive kid, I guess.”) and used to draw pictures of coaches to slice through the monotony of team meetings. It was commonplace for Evans to draw the logo of UCF’s opponent on any particular week.
All of that prepared him for big assignment.
The mural inside Gate 5 at Spectrum Stadium depicts images inside each letter of the word “Knights.” The school’s mascot is pictured inside the “K,” for example. The image of only one player, his former UCF linebacker Shaquem Griffin, is depicted on either mural.
Fittingly, Griffin, the secondyear Seattle Seahawks player whom Evans asked for his permission to include his likeness, is commemorated inside the “G.”
On the second mural, visible on the wall near Gate 15, the Knights’ mascot, a rubber duck (a nod to the school’s Spirit Splash) and charges of electricity — showing the level of excitement on the east Orlando campus — are displayed prominently. An array of colors in various shapes and sizes comprise the left side of the mural.
“Everything he does is really colorful,” said Michelle Stenger, UCF’s director of discovery and advertising who helped select Evans for the project. “A lot of times in athletic facilities, you don’t get a lot of bright colors, so a lot of our stuff is gray and black and gold, [but] to have the bright pinks, and there’s some green and blue … It’s really cool to have those stand out even more.”
While the general public won’t see the murals before UCF’s season opener against Florida A&M on Aug. 29, they already have inspired some people. A couple got engaged in front of one of them.
“What he painted is what our school has represented in the past couple of years, kind of the turning point from when George O’Leary left and (Scott) Frost came in,” UCF redshirt senior offensive lineman Jake Brown said. “I love it because it’s something different. It really pops.”
Most of Evans’ work has a deeper meaning, even the name of his fledgling business, King Frog.
It comes from a reference in the Neil Diamond song, “I am … I said,” which Evans used to listen to with his father.
Evans, who has dropped 50 pounds from his playing weight, is not a king (or king-sized) anymore. Just on some days, he feels like one.
“I am overjoyed, just filled with joy and happiness,” Evans said.