COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Just off the side of SH-6, driving into College Station, the former America’s Best Value Inn has been given a new life as a nostalgic 1970’s art-themed place to stay.
Brian Keeth, the General Manager of Hotel McCoy, wanted to seek out the help of local artists to give the hotel a unique feel.
“It’s definitely hard for artists to get their names out there and get their artwork out there — we are just giving them another platform to do it,” Keeth said.
23-year-old Adele Walker is getting another day closer to finishing her mural of Willie Nelson, which is set to be ready for the hotel’s opening day.
“My idea for the piece is to do a really large-scale Willie Nelson but kind of “abstract-ify” his face to show the pieces and parts of him,” Walker said.
Her art's not just honoring a Texas legend, but someone close to her heart.
“It’s a really sentimental thing to me because most of my family is spread throughout the US, so we’ve spent a lot of time on the road," Walker said.
"Its just kind of a nod to Willie Nelson as part of Texas culture and travel culture.”
From music to TV, Javier Weingart, a Bryan local and Army veteran, said the team at the hotel found his art displayed at a bar in Downtown Bryan and wanted his "Ted Lasso" inspired art on their walls.
His advice to young artists? Keep at it, even when it turns out less than perfect.
“You’re going to make a lot of bad art before you start making a lot of good artwork. Before you know it, it’ll happen," Weingart.
"It won’t be overnight, but it’ll happen if you stay on the course.”