Artist Mez Data painted this scene from the iconic “Dazed and Confused” film with Austin’s sweetheart, Matthew McConaughey, aka Wooderson
Austin’s colorful, painted walls, with their murals, signatures, and sayings, can’t be missed during any exploration of our city. You can see these large pieces downtown, on the east side and south side, and even at The Domain. Whether with beautiful murals, cheerful street art, or classic graffiti, Austin treats the casual spectator to the urban art of their dreams.
Roshi adds finishing touches to a large mural
This is the first part in a series about Austin’s prolific artists working within this massive medium. I’m excited to go behind the scenes with some of my favorite artists in town. For years, I’ve sought out their art around Austin, both in person and on Instagram. H.O.P.E. Outdoor Gallery on Castle Hill reigned for a few years as the place giant walls came to life and aerosol cans went to die.
I confused graffiti art with street art with murals for years. I reasonably thought anything I saw on the street was “street art.” I wasn’t way off, but I wasn’t quite right either. Like the art they describe, these terms are nuanced and complex. Graffiti art spawned street art. Murals are simply large art pieces painted on walls.
Racing-inspired mural by Sloke One together with a Mez Data piece
I’ll attempt to write as accurately as possible in this series, though I’ll go back and forth when speaking big picture. Big picture, get it?
I asked each artist the same questions:
- How did you get started painting in such a large medium, and what is the advantage/reward of painting such large pieces?
- Why do you believe Austin is a good/supportive city for street art/murals?
- Could you describe one of your favorite experiences painting a piece?
- What inspires you to paint?
- What/who in Austin do you admire or gain inspiration from?
The answers are so interesting that I’m going to leave much of this in the artist’s own words.*
Nathan “Sloke One” Nordstrom
When Sloke One hits the walls at Castle Hill, those in the know stop to admire his work
You can’t delve far into the urban art scene in Austin without discovering Nathan “Sloke One”Nordstrom. Other artists revere his graffiti art and he’s well known for his distinct, yet versatile, lettering style. I’ve witnessed other talented artists drop what they were doing to watch Sloke One paint.
The native Austinite and near legendary local aerosol hero started nearly 30 years ago, practicing tags and moving through the hierarchy of the street crews. Now he paints sanctioned and paid pieces on walls (and other surfaces) for brands as popular as Nike, Red Bull, and Google.
Other artists look up to Sloke One for his graffiti art and lettering
Austinot: How did you get started painting in such a large medium, and what is the advantage/reward of painting such large pieces?
Sloke One: I started painting Graffiti here in Austin back in 1990….through Hip Hop culture and Skateboarding. I started on the streets with tags, throwups, then moved onto piecing…The goal was to get up as large and as much as I could. Painting on walls and trains, I wasn’t limited to the confines of a traditional canvas.
Austinot: Why do you believe Austin is a good/supportive city for street art/murals?
Sloke One: I feel that Austin is slowly changing their attitude toward murals. The city seems more open to street art murals than graffiti though…If the mural is ‘cute and friendly’ it tends to be more accepted here in Austin.
Austinot: Could you describe one of your favorite experiences painting a piece?
Sloke One: My favorite experiences painting in Austin have been when I get together with friends and create a nice production with no crowds around and cameras, just artists doing their thing.
Sloke One’s urban art
Austinot: What inspires you to paint?
Sloke One: What inspires me to paint is the endless drive to progress with the art form I love.
Austinot: What/who in Austin do you admire or gain inspiration from?
Sloke One: I am a native Austinite. I have been here since 1972. I can’t seem to move. What gives me inspiration is the foundation I have built here and the endless possibilities that lay ahead.
Mez Data
Mez Data’s pieces are mez-merizing, like Red Girl, riding alongside graffiti by Sloke One and Slie
When one thinks of Sloke One, can Mez Data be far behind? Their work is often found together. The local graffiti artist and muralist has risen through the ranks over the past few decades, working side by side with Sloke One and crew.
Mez Data painted this tribute to Lemmy after the Motorhead singer’s death
Mez Data’s style feels like Vermeer meets Hunter S. Thompson meets an aerosol can. He’s adept at creating achingly realistic portraits, such as the one of Willie Nelson below. But he often adds a bit of caricature-like exaggeration, like an oversized forehead, gigantic lips, or a third eye. His color palette is uniquely his own, such is his expert use of shading and blending.
Austinot: How did you get started painting in such a large medium, and what is the advantage/reward of painting such large pieces?
Mez Data: I got my start in the mid-nineties writing graffiti. Some…advantages to painting graffiti/murals would be the fact that I’m not just stuck at a desk or easel. I get to be active and see new places…that’s not always great in Texas in July and August though. Another reward would be all the awesome people and places I’ve gotten to know over the years through this art form.
I can practically hear Willie playing his guitar in Mez Data’s realistic mural
Austinot: Why do you believe Austin is a good/supportive city for street art/murals?
Mez Data: Austin is a good city for murals/street art because there is a young and open-minded population, with both the residents and businesses. Austin understands that art contributes to a better quality of life.
Austinot: Could you describe one of your favorite experiences painting a piece?
Mez Data: It’s always great to paint with my crew and friends at graffiti jams…One of my most pleasurable experiences was my recent painting of [Alamo survivor] Susanna Dickinson and child in Gonzales, Texas. I really enjoyed the tranquility of being in a small town where there wasn’t a lot of hustle and bustle, I was able to pop in my headphones and work—it was almost like a mini-vacation. It was also nice to paint something that meant something to the town and it’s history as well. Everyone was so nice and loved the positive addition to the town.
Austinot: What inspires you to paint?
Mez Data: Inspired? I’m not sure I’m as inspired as it’s more of something I have to do. Art and music are all I’ve ever done.
Austinot: What/who in Austin do you admire or gain inspiration from?
Mez Data: Sloke, hands down. He has always been a great inspiration and motivator for me; he’s got ill style and can control, a true writer…a machine. I’m lucky to call him a friend and honored to rep our city and crews with him.”
Roshi K
Roshi’s women often appear in dreamlike settings
Aw, Roshi! One of Austin’s urban art scene queens, Roshi paints her elegant, graceful ladies all over town. It’s difficult not to smile upon seeing one of her images adorning a wall. Roshi paints with clean, simple lines, yet manages to imbue each woman she paints with attitude, charm, ferocity, warmth, and sometimes all four. I simply adore her work and the artist herself.
Austinot: How did you get started painting in such a large medium, and what is the advantage/reward of painting such large pieces?
Roshi K: I was the first intern for sprATX and while we were doing events, I would hang around guys like Oblucka, Briks, Jason E, Cask, and Mouf who were doing amazing large scale pieces. I also grew up on the East Coast where graffiti was a natural part of the scenery. Creating large scale pieces myself allows me to amplify the message that I have…
Roshi takes a quick break from painting to rest (Credit: Katie Cowden)
Austinot: Why do you believe Austin is a good/supportive city for street art/murals?
Roshi K: Austin is a good/supportive city for street art/murals because it’s still growing. At this point, compared to cities like Philly, Houston, L.A., N.Y., etc., Austin is like a teenager hitting puberty and finally starting to realize what it needs to make itself beautiful. It needs more color and it needs more vibrancy. It strives to be like other large cities all across the US that have already integrated the culture of graffiti and street art into the fabric of the metropolis. The culture and the color has always been here, especially on the East Side but now the rest of the city finally ‘gets it’.
Austinot: Could you describe one of your favorite experiences painting a piece?
Roshi K: I have had quite a few heartwarming experiences, but this recent one takes the cake for being embarrassing. I was painting an interior for a restaurant that is downtown off second street. I had been painting late by myself for a few nights in a row. Every night, I would get up in a scissor lift and sing garbage pop music at the top of my lungs. I’m talking about shower style singing of sugary-sweet pop music, circa 2004…One night, I hear someone yelling hello at me. I look down to find a security guard…It was a little alarming at first because I had locked myself in this unfinished restaurant. He said he’d been listening to me for a few nights in a row and finally decided that he HAD to come say hello…The walls weren’t completely sealed on one side of the restaurant. So, next door in the lobby…they could hear EVERY SINGLE NOTE I was singing…I apologized profusely, but he said it was the most entertainment they’d ever gotten…He said he admired my passion and my art…It was silly but it felt nice that my terrible singing turned the night around for a bunch of bored security guards. I would have appreciated it had the tables been turned. I still sang every night after that out of a duty to entertain the security guards.
Another one of Roshi K’s striking local ladies
Austinot: What inspires you to paint?
Roshi K: This is a hard one to answer. I paint because I love expressing myself, silently, by painting loudly with the colors on the page. I talked a lot as a kid and I think I gradually learned that it got me in trouble so I started drawing more. I never stopped getting in trouble for my quick, sassy mouth but I did get better at expressing myself on the page. I am inspired by my need to express myself on the page. I have worked through a lot of emotions and hardships by doodling…My sketchbooks are more like diaries than anything else.
Austinot: What/who in Austin do you admire or gain inspiration from?
Roshi K: Man, this…list that could go on forever, but at the top is an artist named Qi Dada of Riders Against the Storm. She is a musician, stylist/jewelry maker, and 1/3 of BodyRockATX. I admire her because she speaks her mind without reservations and she wears the most amazing ensembles as though they were her own skin. She enters the room with a radiance that turns every single head. She doesn’t seem to shy away from anyone and she is so graceful. Qi ’s presence is heavenly and she reminds me to expand and be myself.
Art in the Wild
Austin gives us the goods every day. We are so lucky to have all manner of urban art visible and accessible, to local Austinites and tourists. For people like me, this is one of the reasons I love Austin so fiercely.
My series on Austin muralists is just getting started. Stay tuned for more insight from our amazing local talent.
*I’ve retained the bulk of each artist’s answers, but deleted some text for space. I’ve also made minor punctuation or spelling edits to keep style consistent.
@jojoaustin wants to know:
Who is your favorite Austin muralist?
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