Walking back thru our time

 I have omited all the homeless history as I feel no one wants to read about that.  But I would like to start here, in this little house next to an alley in Seymour Texas.  This was mine and Angels first apt.  Thirty or so years ago- this is where we started to bring our lives back into focus as we started to reach out to the businesses for work and sign jobs. We began the Harmel Ranch Mural from this house.

 Prior to moving here, we had lived and survived in Munday Texas (28 mi southwest) where Angel had been living originally. Munday folks are the ones who actually took me in and put the tools back in my hands to work with. This is early work for the Monday Moguls field house. Angel was living (sort of) in his moms house which had been abandoned for taxes....no water- no electricity. He repaired lawn mowers for the town there, and I can still remember him sitting on the front porch with a 'pressed ham' sandwich, and fiddling around with dollar scratch off tickets to survive on.  He had long glorious hair back then.  No one realized that he was diabetic...not even me.  But I felt sorry for him and realized we were both in the same homeless situation.  So we teamed up and started working together airbrushing along with him being my back up assistant.

While working on this old grandfathered sign in Munday, a lady asked me down on the ground if I had any 'works' for sale and I said no.  But I asked her why would she collect art from artists...and the last thing she said was, '-Because every artist has a story'...and that sort of stuck in my head.


 Back in those years- we did not have anything.  Two bikes a compressor - and I used a disposable camera to record what we were painting.  This is a restoration of an old Coke sign on a remote hidden wall in downtown Munday.




Folks tell me this coke sign is still there.  But faded, as most out door signage does in time.








This one is the one that got us noticed by the locals.  I painted right across from the main Munday grocery store where I knew people would be sure to see it.
This led to us being commissioned by Laurance Harmel of Seymour Texas.





Thirty or so years ago, this is where we really put our foot down.  I told Angel that if we do this, they will come.  Mr. and Mrs Harmel have both passed away now, and supposedly and 'evil' brother has taken over the huge ranching business.  I have no idea who he is and don't care to either.
Over and out-  Billy