The Magic of murals...			...in Houston
			by Debi Osborne

Houston's first brushes with the art work of Winona Johnston began years ago with paintings on the windows of local stores. She painted Halloween pumpkins or Christmas scenes of the "Peanuts" gang, whatever a local retailer would like. She was commissioned, like a professional, even though she was still in school. Then she decided to set her sights higher. Winona approached the District of Houston Council about painting murals on buildings in town.

Houston's Heritage

In 1997, Houston was concerned with it's appearance. Steelhead Park, on Highway 16, was in full bloom, and received wonderful comments from both locals and travellers but something needed to be done with the downtown retail area. It lacked a theme. There was much talk about murals but there were no funds available from the District of Houston to commission Winona.

A familiar sight at local rivers Photo by Cheryl Kelley

She was advised to contact individual businesses for contracts. After managing to find a first customer who was willing to pay for time and supplies, Winona enlisted the help of her friend Margaret Cadonic, and together they began to permanently capture the essence of Houston on walls.