Geno Escobedo usually paints on canvases and sells prints. But about a year ago, some friends introduced him to spray painting.
“I was like, ‘it’s over now. I know how to do this,’” he said, a gas mask strapped to his head and a can of blue paint in his hand.
Escobedo, 24, lives in West Lake Hills, but he sometimes comes down to the HOPE Outdoor Gallery, a three-story, constantly evolving art project at 11th and Baylor just northwest of downtown in the Clarksville neighborhood.
With his computer shooting time-lapse video of his progress, Escobedo sprayed bright blue paint onto the wall, shaking the can every few seconds. Usually, he doesn’t know what he’ll paint until he’s already making marks on the wall.
“I like this because it’s free reign,” he said.
Since opening in 2011 on the site of an abandoned condo development, the wall has become a top tourist spot in Austin. It’s sometimes called Castle Hill or the Baylor Street Art Wall. (Learn about the hill’s historical roots here.)
Dozens of teenagers, couples, families and artists wander around the concrete wasteland eyeing bright artwork and dozens of tags that boast names, young love and whimsical messages.
The etiquette of wall art tends to change from person-to-person. Some artists say it’s fair to paint just about anywhere, except over something beautiful and fresh. Others scoff at the tourists who spray their names for a quick photograph, believing the wall is intended for artists.
Technically, artists are supposed to register at SprATX or the on-site information trailer. But people sometimes just find a discarded spray can and make their mark.
Either way, the wall has the feel of a free-for-all.
While the property is generally open to the public, it is privately-owned.
It has the occasional discarded beer bottle, some litter, overgrown areas and a lot of exposed concrete and rebar. So consider wearing sturdy shoes if you want to climb around, and watch children carefully because there are several 10-foot-plus drop offs and no guardrails.
The property, which was slated for condo development until the housing crash in 2008, is owned by Dick Clark Architecture and Castle Hill Partners. It is the brainchild of Andi Scull Cheatham, the founder of HOPE Events, a nonprofit that brings artists from around the world together for community projects and creative collaborations.
The wall started with a six-panel installation by Shepard Fairey, a famous street artist whose rendering of President Barack Obama became a long-living iconic image and whose OBEY posters and paintings have spread via replicating artists to most major cities.
Since then, the concrete has been a canvass for many street artists and curious kids. It’s constantly evolving, as artists cover each other’s work. Some of the best works have been published in a book called “The Hope Outdoor Gallery Book: 3 Years of Stories, People and Street Art in Austin, Texas.”
The wall has also hosted South by Southwest events, involving 50 artists who re-painted the walls with their streetart.
Artists have pretty much unlimited possibilities on the wall, but sometimes the wall is more of a public message board.
Among the art at the top of the hill is a panda bear wearing sunglasses holding a big green card that says “Marry Me?” Below are checkboxes for “Yes” and “No.”
Someone clearly liked the expression of creativity – the “Yes” box was checked.