OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — His confidence grows with the amount of paint he puts to wall or canvas.
“Every time I start one, it’s a whole new thing,” says muralist Chris Presley. “I almost feel like I don’t really know what I’m doing when I start even though that’s what I do for a living.”
Chris has already brushed on lots of layers for his latest work.
“I just call her ‘The Buffalo Goddess,'” he smiles.
She’s definitely come to life already, riding across the salmon-colored skies of his living room.
“When I sit down to watch TV or whatever she just, literally, looms over you and makes you feel guilty that it’s not done yet,” he chuckles.
He painted her once before about seven years ago on some plywood.
The weather faded this goddess beyond any point of saving so he went back to work on a new generation.
Presley says, “It’s kind of the same but more colorful. The sky is a lot more dynamic. There’s a lot more going on with it. I think it’s an improvement.”
The text of the new mural will say the same thing, ‘Oklahoma City’ across the top, and ‘Let the Thunder Roll’ across the bottom.
Chris put in a special aluminum braced canvas this time, and with better paint that should last much longer.
“Until the heat death of the universe,” he playfully estimates.
When he’s finished fussing with her and her pet, Chris’ mural will face east on one of Oklahoma City’s most recognizable structures, the old Milk Bottle Grocery near Northwest 23rd and Classen.
“You’re on the home stretch now,” suggests a visitor to his makeshift gallery.
“I can see the finish line,” he responds, “and it’s kind of nice.”
He thinks she’ll just fit where the old one once hung, rolling on for another few generations thanks to the milk of kindness that is good exterior paint, and an artist who spent lots of time making sure she and her pet looked their best.
Presley told us he should have his newest mural finished before springtime 2020.
To see more of his work go to his website.
