Our creative team at Americom Marketing has designed some really fun projects this year, but this latest one may be the biggest yet. We are pleased to share some photos of our wall design for the Ben Rogers Regional Visitors Center.
Full of design details and cultural highlights, the mural/art installation covers the landscape of Jefferson County in Southeast Texas. History, a handful of major landmarks, the environment, and wildlife of Jefferson County are just about all accounted for in this L-shaped display that covers the back L-shaped interior wall of the visitors center on I-10. Even the right side portion strategically covers the door to the beautiful conference room.
The wall itself had been blank for years, serving as a utilitarian backdrop for the famous exhibit of the beautiful vintage car of Ben Rogers—a red 1949 MG TC Roadster. The car exhibit is stunning as it is, encapsulating beauty and history all together on 4 spectacular wheels. However, when the opportunity came to create a new backdrop for it to bright this corner to life, we jumped in and got creative.
“The Visitors Center has a gorgeous facility on I-10 right in front of Ford Park,…and they do terrific work for the counties of Southeast Texas,” says Lance LaRue, Creative Director and artist. “They teamed with Robert Blackwell of Image 360 to assess the size and material production, and that discussion led to our design work. They’d seen my series of vintage Texas city posters, and thought ‘Yes—we want that, but a whole wall of it!’ And that’s how it all began.”
After just one on-site meeting, some tape measure work, and a few clicks of LaRue’s iPhone, it was off to the races. Americom’s creative team drew up a few sketches to review back and forth and the plan was put into action.
The original headline of the wall had more playful, linguistic creativity around Southeast Texas, but it was revised to focus more on Jefferson County. Other than a couple of minor size adjustments and detail additions, that was really the only difference from the first draft to the final wall. The bright colors of a glowing sunset make for a soaring canvas of the SETX landmarks.
The bridge over the Neches River (connecting Port Arthur to Orange County), the Jefferson County Courthouse, the downtown cityscape of Beaumont, the bordering bayous, the blue heron and many birds of the area, alligators, BBQ crabs, Lamar University, the Nederland Windmill, and the famous Spindletop oil derrick, are just a mere sampling of the many illustrations and tidbits featured on the wall art. And as many of LaRue’s art posters are known for, the design includes a handful of hidden gems and “Easter eggs”as well.
“It was a lot of fun to draw it up, make it like a wall-sized tourism poster, and design the details. Considering the size and how visible things would be, it offered the chance to add some fun little things to hunt for in the water and trees and other elements, so look closely—there’s more than you think in there,” he says.
Image 360 was wonderful as always with the print production and installation. The attention to detail and swift, efficient installation made for a smooth process from A to Z.
The Visitor Center is located on I-10 near Ford Park at the west side of Jefferson County. The facility includes other murals, portraits, and art exhibits including some from other local artists. It houses information, pamphlets, brochures, materials, and resources to inform and direct visitors to Jefferson County and all nine counties of Southeast Texas. Learn more here at https://co.jefferson.tx.us/visitorcenter/brrvc.htm
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