(November 22, 2024) – A new mural that pays tribute to the late artist Jason Butler now adorns a wall at the new LMFA in downtown Longview.
Arts!Longview, LMFA, and Forbes & Butler jointly held a dedication ceremony Thursday evening for the new “Colorful Lady” mural in memory of Butler, who passed away in late April of 2023. Butler worked for 22 years at Forbes & Butler Visual Communication in downtown Longview and served on several community boards, including the 100 Acres of Heritage Board of Directors and the LMFA Board of Directors.
Butler was passionate about both downtown Longview and the Arts!Longview Cultural District. After Butler passed away, his wife, Shelly, suggested a mural could be established in his memory. LMFA Executive Director Tiffany Jehorek reached out to Arts!Longview Executive Director Christina Cavazos about the idea, and Arts!Longview began to collect donations from the community in support of the mural.
When considering a location, Cavazos said, it was important that the location be within the original 100 Acres of Heritage of downtown Longview as well as in the Arts!Longview Cultural District since Butler was passionate about both of those areas. Selecting the north-facing wall of the new LMFA location at 213 N. Fredonia St. brought the project full circle.
The new mural features a triptych of Butler’s “Colorful Lady” screen print. Butler was inspired to start screen printing after viewing an Andy Warhol exhibit at LMFA and after being inspired by his friend and co-worker Jim Tilley’s experimentation with screen printing. Butler founded Jason Butler Fine Art Screen Print in 2018.
The center mural features a reproduction of Butler’s original “Colorful Lady” screen print. The left and right murals were color manipulated to create an Andy Warhol-like effect. Butler’s business partner, Holly Forbes, assisted with the color manipulation process for the left and right murals. Each mural is 17 feet tall by 17 feet wide. The murals were fabricated and installed by Leon’s Signs of Tyler.
“This mural is stunning, bold and vibrant, and it’s a perfect tribute to a person who so greatly enriched the fabric of our community with his passion and his creativity,” Cavazos said. “We hope this serves as a lasting tribute to Jason and we also hope it inspires other artists for many years to come.”