Artist moves to Austin, donates new mural on Barton Springs Road two weeks later

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Peytton Stroup moved to Austin two weeks ago, but she’s already leaving her mark on the city. Literally.

Stroup is the muralist behind a new piece of artwork by the P. Terry’s at South Lamar and Barton Springs.

Stroup has been doing artwork like mural commissions for about a year now and said she’s working toward becoming a full-time artist.

“You know, that’s funny because I’ve always wanted to do, like art, but people say you can’t make money from art,” Stroup said. “And one day, my dad called me and was like, ‘Hey, we’re fixing up your grandma’s house, do you want to paint a mural in her bedroom?'”

That first mural was a monarch butterfly, which Stroup said was a really special project to her. The one on Barton is her 10th mural and first public one, so she wanted it to represent what she said was a full-circle moment for her.

After her first mural, she did another one for another family member, then started posting them on social media, and “it just took off from there,” Stroup said.

Right now, she’s a stay-at-home mom and wife, and she’s working on building up her art portfolio. Stroup said she’s hoping that doing more public art pieces will help her toward her goal of becoming a full-time artist.

“Moving somewhere new, it takes a while to get situated and established, so we’re getting there, hopefully.”

Stroup got permission from the P. Terry’s location manager and the company’s CEO to paint the mural. She said it’s donated piece from her to the community, to get people to interact with art.

“The goal of this is, it’s a photo-op, so you can stand right in the middle, take your picture, post it to social media… It’s supposed to be kind of an interactive thing, and it’s the Texas state butterfly,” she said.

Stroup said her biggest challenge so far has been finding the right clients and getting them to commit to her art.

“Ya know, it is a business, and artists, they also have bills to pay,” Stroup said. “So the hardest part is finding people that want it, but can also afford it.”

Stroup did also say she’s flexible with pricing and willing to work with budgets. She’s also looking to expand her services to canvas art as well.

Stroup’s favorite part of being an artist: “It’s really therapeutic.”

“And I’ve always wanted to be my own boss,” she said. But she felt discouraged from pursuing it because of societal and financial pressure.

“Everyone always thought it was just like, a calling for me, but with society saying like, ‘Oh, starving artists… Artists don’t make any money…'” Stroup said. “But it’s therapeutic and I get to make my own schedule and work with the people I wanna work with.”

Stroup has a website where she keeps her portfolio, and a contact form where clients can reach her. She also posts her work on Instagram and Facebook.

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