HOUSTON – Yellow and blue paint stains David Flores’ thick fingers. The large brick wall in front of him features the Houston skyline emblazoned in dark red, and behind it, the Houston Astros' 2017 World Series trophy. The wall is covered in red, yellow, orange and white paint—all Flores’ doing.
He examines a yellow oval painted on the wall with a can of paint in one hand and his phone in the other. He stares at his phone, then back at the oval, then at his phone. His plan is to turn the oval into the face of Astros second baseman Jose Altuve firing a menacing stare. It’s based off a photo stored on his phone.
He takes one last look and slips his phone into his deep pocket. He takes his blue paint can and starts with an outline of a nose, before moving to they eyes and mouth. He stops and steps back, pausing to grab his phone out of his pocket. He stares at the photo, examining the details of Altuve’s face. He adds a series of blue shadows and yellow highlights to the wall. In minutes, what once resembled a yellow blob now amazingly looks like a near replica of the photo—Altuve’s menacing stare and all.
“It’s a work in progress,” he said.
Flores has been drawing since he was a baby growing up in north Houston. In those days, he would pause a movie in his family’s VCR and copy the image on the screen. When Flores’ older brother caught on that he could draw, he asked Flores to draw illustrations on flyers for his high school parties. When Flores’ father caught on, he asked Flores to draw his family members during the holidays. And when he wasn’t drawing for family or friends, he was doing it for fun.
“I would lock myself in my room and just draw,” he said. “That was my thing.”
He drew girls’ names in graffiti letters, which made him popular in school. In high school, he started drawing flyers for his own parties. Now 43, Flores moved past the parties and focuses on murals and spreading his love for art. It doesn’t hurt, he said, that he can make a living doing what he does, too.
He makes clay sculptures of tribal masks. He holds workshops for teachers and students at various local school districts that highlight techniques in sculpting, spray painting and other mediums. He loves teaching, although he said he doesn’t fit the typical mold of a teacher.
Apart from his graying beard, Flores has a shaved head and tattoos inked throughout his body, most representing an important part of his Hispanic heritage. Atop his head and circling down his neck is an Aztec calendar.
“I’m really proud of my heritage,” Flores said. “People always want to know: what drives you, what makes you? Consider this: my ancestors built a written language based on images instead of writing.”
In addition to the Astros mural, he’s been commissioned to paint a mural on the side a washateria in east Houston and another in a Galveston museum. He’s painted the Houston skyline “millions of times.”
“It’s the most popular thing that people want painted as far as Houston murals,” he said.
He’s lost count of how many murals he’s painted through the years. But of them all, he’s especially proud of the mural on the side of the washateria, which features a detailed Aztec calendar that’s full of vibrant colors—yellows and reds and oranges—that pop off the baby blue backdrop of the building.
Back at the Astros mural, Flores finishes Altuve’s face and steps away. Although mrual isn't complete, he’s already received internet fame for the work he’s done—it’s the first Astros mural in town that commemorates the team’s championship, and people stop by regularly to snap pictures. He’s going to add shortstop Carlos Correa and pitcher Dallas Keuchel to go with Altuve and George Springer, completing the Astros' big four.
And then, “I’ve got to fatten out the clouds—bring them out more so it pops,” he said.
With his thick, paint-stained fingers, he grabs a can of paint and approaches the wall.
