Get to know the artist behind the mural! Joy Matheson is a Houston artist and you can find her work on 13 mini murals around the city. She shares her inspiration, favorite artists, upcoming projects, and more in the interview below.
How long have you been painting?
I’ve been artistic since childhood and was blessed with parents who supported my art from an early age. At age 8 they enrolled me in adult oil painting classes that were offered at Gloyer’s Pharmacy in Tomball. I always enjoyed art in school but didn’t make a career out of it at first. I spent decades in retail operations and recruiting before starting Scribbles Murals & Decorative Painting in 2002. I took a roundabout way of getting here, but feel like this is what I was always meant to do.
How did you start painting murals and public art?
When I first started Scribbles I propositioned friends and family to let me paint murals for them to build a portfolio. Once I had enough work to show prospective clients I started advertising and business grew from there. I’ve had plenty of commercial clients in the past 18 years (schools, churches, restaurants,) but it wasn’t until I was selected by UP Art Studio to participate in the mini mural program that I did any real public art. I’ve completed 13 of them so far.
Can you share your inspiration behind the wildflower mural pictured here?
The sponsor of this box wanted Texas wildflowers. We have so many to choose from here but I just focused on my favorites: bluebonnets, lantana, bluebells, and Indian blanket flowers. I decided to paint them zoomed-in and larger than life because we don’t see the intricacies of them when observing a field from a car. It’s a lot of fun to study and paint them. I of course had to add a butterfly, bee, and ladybug to the mix because insects are beautiful too.
What is your favorite Houston mural?
Houston has so much artistic talent, it’s hard to choose but I do love Preservons la Creation by Mr. D. A reimagining of Michelangelo’s God from The Creation of Adam but armed with a can of spraypaint? What’s not to love about that and at 5 stories tall and a city block wide???? Yeah, that one gets my vote.
Who is your favorite local artist?
My favorite local artist is Dixie Friend Gay. She’s a master at mosaic murals.
This changes as time goes on for me. In the 90s I loved Michael Parkes…cheesy I know….but did I mention I worked retail? I lived in malls and at the time his art was all over mall art galleries and I fell in love and purchased many of his prints. Now I’m fascinated with the paintings of Bill Braun. He paints hyper-realistic trompe l’oeil that looks like kindergarten construction paper art projects…. but it’s all PAINT. If you’ve never heard of him you really need to look him up. I’m also a HUGE fan of Donald Roller Wilson. I can’t afford any of his original works, but I do have an homage piece I’ve been working on in my studio modeled after his “Cookie” character. I have a very kitschy taste in art.
Are you working on any upcoming projects you’d like to share?
This month I’ve been busy with Christmas gift commissions (pet portraits, and wearable art mostly.) It looks like January is going to be dedicated to the other side of my business (decorative painting) as I have several clients scheduled for stencil and plaster finishes. I do have another mini mural coming up in the Memorial City area and some fun retail signage coming up as well.
To learn more about Joy, visit www.scribblesmurals.com or follow her on instagram at @joyscribbles