FRESH PAINT identifies creative and aspiring artists to prepare them to launch a career in making and commissioning public art murals. With the goal of diversity and representation of artists that are young, Black, Indigenous and people of color, five artists ages 18-25 were selected and paired with three established and accomplished mural artist mentors, Denise Duong and Jaiye Farrell. The mentors will assist the young artists in developing an 8’ by 8’ mural, including:
- Developing concepts and artist statements about the proposed work
- Developing material lists and quantities
- Preparation of the mural frames and surfaces for painting
- Applying the design to the surface and completing the mural
Murals will be on display at Arts Council OKC’s annual Festival of the Arts, April 25- 28th in Bicentennial Park.
Artists
Huey Credale Robinson
My name is Huey Credale Robinson and I’m from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I have been drawing since the age of 4, and I have always been fascinated by color. I was heavily inspired by the artist Akira Toriyama, and I developed new sets of skills as I took art in grade school. I was born with a very sensual understanding of color and hue, and how each form of light come with its own expression and state of being. As I grew older, I started diving into the spiritual realm, and subconscious mind. I started eating vegan, and even color code my meals at times. My goal is to bring certain spiritual philosophies, or theories to life through my art mainly focused on Ancient KMT, Kushite Nubian’s, and the Naga Serpents. Their unexplained history is connected to my family tree, and the bloodline of many African people. Their knowledge and culture play huge rolls in all our lives, technology, religion, etc. They recorded their legacy through art, and I will do the same. The biggest goal is to heal people’s heart with the thousands of words my art can express. I’m not limited to one medium and I hope to master them all.
Adamaris Rodriguez
Hello, my name is Adamaris Rodriguez and I am a 24 year old latina artist from Oklahoma City! I have created art since a little girl and slowly developed a love for portraits that helped me become a full-time artist in 2020. My style has slowly evolved to a more surrealistic version of portraits with a lot more color and vibrancy and a whole lot of women empowerment behind it. Besides portraits I dabble in a lot of other forms of art like grad caps, and custom painted shoes. I’m hoping to become more experienced in larger scale work and add murals to the list.
Syon Houston
My name is Syon Houston and I was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. I began drawing/painting at 19 as a way to battle mental illness. Charcoal and oil paint are what I mainly use for traditional pieces, but as of late, my heart lies with digital painting to create portraits and full body rendering in a realistic style mixed with abstract elements. My first time painting a mural was superb and I look forward to doing more in the future.
Makiya Deerinwater
My name is Makiya Deerinwater, and I am a Cherokee traditional and digital artist from Tahlequah, OK. I am a full-time student working on my bachelor's degree in Fine Arts with an emphasis on Graphic Design. For work, I create illustrations for the Language Department at Cherokee Nation, but I continue to make personal illustrations in my free time. I try to create contemporary art with modern, yet indigenous ideas while pushing myself out of my comfort zone.
Esther Velasco
My name is Esther Velasco, a Mexican-American artist and graphic designer based in and from Oklahoma City. I work at Modern Species, a design agency focused on sustainable brands. I’ve been an artist since I was little. I studied graphic design at the University of Central Oklahoma. My art explores society and culture, drawing from my heritage and global experiences. I aim to celebrate the beauty and complexity of our Earth through creativity.
Mentor Bios
Jaiye Farrell
I specialize in creating Visuals and most people know me for my abstract pattern work. I am most proud of being able to contribute to my local art community. Also, I like finding organizations to team up with to help bring awareness to a subject or cause. I have always been into different creative mediums. It started with drawing but grew into playing with digital mediums and video editing. In 2015, I really started pursuing Painting and mural work along with finding ways to connect with my local art community. I like creating on a black canvas, because nonlinear line patterns disrupt the void while also constructing the whole of the piece – and it’s continual, intentional, it weaves a narrative together that I have in my mind that remains subjective to the viewer. When people interact with my art, I hope it sparks something sensory for them. Oftentimes, people tell me that they see something moving in my work or they see an image that is unique to their experience. That’s pareidolia: the mind perceiving familiarity in a realm where it does not exist. However, something is created out of this abstraction that’s personal to them. This interaction with my artwork promotes an experience that no longer conveys just a mental state of thought but a physical embodiment of perception.
Denise Duong
Denise Duong is a Vietnamese American artist from Oklahoma City, OK. Her nomadic spirit has landed her all over the world and her love for life and all that encompass it, is what inspires her work. She attended the School of the Arts Institute of Chicago after high school and departed there to pursue the life of a beach bum in Hawaii where she excelled in Capoeria and basic surfing, along with a vast collection of drawings. After island life, she came back to the mainland and started her art career with a focus on painting and drawings. Her works can be seen throughout the country on buildings and in galleries with content expanding from political disbelief, the deep love for nature, to the many facets of the complicated web of the human emotion. She currently celebrates life with her artist partner Gabriel Friedman and their daughters in Oklahoma City when they aren’t conspiring on a boat, plane, train or automobile elsewhere.