photo credit:  Devona Stimpson

If you missed the sold-out Beyoncé Cowboy Carter Tour here last June, you can still honor Queen Bey with a visit to the latest Third Ward mural. It’s a splash of vibrant colors with Beyoncé in a bright red cowboy hat and jacket. And it’s quickly becoming the place for a photo op for tourists and locals alike.

“There actually aren’t that many Beyoncé murals in Houston, which is kind of wild considering she’s from here,” says muralist Devona Stimpson. “I had painted one of her in Fifth Ward that people really loved. It ended up going viral on social media. Felicia (Drake), the owner of Grooves of Houston, saw that video and reached out. She had been wanting a new Beyoncé mural on the side of her building for a while. Grooves is in Third Ward and has been a staple in the community for over 14 years under her ownership, so it just made sense, especially since that’s also where Beyoncé is from. The timing couldn’t have been better, too; we finished it right before the concert weekend.”

And it was pretty labor-intensive.

“I spent hours reference hunting, basically just going down a rabbit hole looking for the perfect photo,” she explained. “I even bought the Cowboy Carter vinyl, which came with an exclusive photo book, just to see what hadn’t hit the internet yet. I knew I wanted to paint her in a cowboy hat, and when I saw this shot of her in the all-red leather outfit, I was sold. It felt bold, sexy, and perfect for the wall. Plus, from a painting perspective, one solid color outfit is a lot easier (and faster) to knock out. I also loved that she was making a kissy face because it tied in perfectly with the “From Houston With Love” quote I wanted to include in the mural.

“It took 58 hours over the span of 10 days — all painted by hand with a brush. My partner, Kevin Stimpson, helped out on the mural, too, which made a huge difference with timing. He focused on all the color fills, while I focused on all the realism and details. I actually documented the whole process in a six-part series on Instagram and TikTok, from blank wall to finished piece. We had to navigate a bunch of weather delays … classic Houston. The rain and the heat were no joke. We’d paint from about 6:30 a.m. to noon every day before the sun moved and hit the wall full force. After that, you just start melting. On some days, we’d even come back in the evenings to put in a double shift.”

This isn’t Stimpson’s first Third Ward mural. She’s also the artist behind the mural of Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and Judge Zinetta Burney on the side of The Den cigar bar that was sponsored by Houston Southeast as part of Up Art Studio’s Big Walls, Big Dreams Festival.

by Marene Gustin