The Old South Wall by the BR Walls Project

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - While sweat dripped from his forehead and paint rolled off his brush, Skinny Dope crafted puffy yellow clouds on the side of a Myrtle Walk Street building. Now, Old South welcomes a new and brightly colored wall rightfully named the Old South Mural.

“I don’t have a plan at all. I just let it do whatever it does,” said Jonathan “Skinny Dope” Brown.

This guy was here with no plan in mind but to just paint. Pick a color, pay attention to the lights and shadows and bring some Baton Rouge history to life with a paint roller. That was the plan.

And boy, did it work out. Suddenly, a flat wall of the Disk Productions, Inc. building depicts the houses of historical businesses in the area.

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The Walls Project brought Skinny Dope to the Old South Mural. The Walls Project is a nonprofit organization that started in November 2012. Its goal is to create and reactivate a sense of community through public art.

The Walls Project has already gotten quite the hand on Baton Rouge’s walls. You probably pass by many on your way to work or school. I mean, there are about 100 of these walls spread throughout the city.

Each wall is bold and unique. I’m sure each one required lots of time and effort.

“I don’t know how I did it in this heat,” said Skinny Dope.

Yeah, I don’t know how he did it either. But, I’m sure glad he did. The community can come together to celebrate their neighborhood’s history with this beautiful new addition.

See the Old South Mural on 1100 Perkins Rd.

And if you want to stop by any of the other 100 pieces of wall art in and around the city, click on this map.

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