Welcome to OKC! | ARTS OK x Paycom Center
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | April 2025
6' × 100' | Aerosol on wooden fence
This project came together a little faster than originally expected.
I had already been selected to create the mural, but as the Oklahoma City Thunder postseason approached, I was contacted to see if we could get it finished ahead of the playoff run.
So we made it happen.
The mural stretched roughly 100 feet across the exterior fencing at Paycom Center, home of the Oklahoma City Thunder. With a deadline approaching, the days became a mix of early mornings, late nights, changing weather, wind, rain, and figuring out how to keep everything moving.
I actually enjoy that kind of challenge.
For this project, I brought my friend Miguel along to document some of the process. He got to see firsthand what it can look like behind the finished photographs, waking up early, painting from sunrise into the evening, watching the weather, adjusting plans, and still finding enjoyment in the middle of all of it.
The mural itself was fun and flowed naturally as I worked across the fence.
One thing I wanted to explore was how I could push the artwork beyond simply painting on a flat surface.
The fence was divided by metal frames every several feet, creating sections that I could not paint across normally. Instead of treating those dividers as limitations, I started thinking about another question:
What else is possible outside of just painting the fence?
Back in Tulsa, I created several custom cutout elements that I later installed directly onto the mural. They projected forward from the surface and, in some areas, extended beyond the top and edges of the fence.
Some of the cutouts also crossed over the metal dividers between panels, allowing the composition to visually continue through areas where paint alone could not.
That small addition changed the way the mural interacted with the structure. The artwork was no longer completely contained by the rectangle of the fence. Certain elements physically pushed outside of it.
It was an extra step, but that was the point.
I wanted the mural to feel dynamic and give people something more than what they might expect from a painted construction fence.
A few months after completing the original installation, I ran into an issue I had not experienced before when some areas of paint began to chip. I returned to Oklahoma City, cleaned and prepared those sections again, reapplied primer, and repainted the affected areas.
That return trip became memorable for a different reason.
I brought my mom with me, partly so she could get away for a little trip, but also because I wanted her to see the work I had created at Paycom Center. We spent some time exploring Oklahoma City while we were there and got to enjoy the trip together outside of the work itself.
By the end of everything, I was proud of how the project came together.
From pushing through unpredictable weather and a condensed timeline to experimenting with dimensional elements and eventually returning to make sure the mural held up the way it should, every part of the experience became part of the story.
Most of all, I was excited and thankful for the opportunity to create something at Paycom Center.
Seeing my work stretch across that space in downtown Oklahoma City, especially heading into such an exciting time for the city, made this one feel like an important milestone.
