Artist colors Odessa buildings

Kneeling on the floor of Basin Compliance’s fluorescent-lit hallway, Shelly Kirkmeyer faces the wall, paintbrush in hand. Carefully she shades the green pump jack she’s spent weeks painting onto the wall. To the artistically unsophisticated, the pump looks complete—an impressive, perfectly scaled rendition, beautifully colored and frozen in time. But, to Shelly, a self-proclaimed perfectionist, it’s far from finished. Rising, she takes a few steps back and examines her work: a picturesque 38-and-a-half-foot tribute to the West Texas oilfield, sunrise to sunset, with painted old postcard images sprinkled in between.

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Ask Shelly when she decided to become an artist, and wittily the 47-year-old professional muralist will respond, “About the same time that I decided to grow a right arm.”

She’s convinced: art chose her. Growing up, the New Mexico native often used her developing talent as an escape from her rocky childhood. With art she could “paint the perfect family.”

At 17, she left Hobbs for Albuquerque, and became an art apprentice after finding a job at a newspaper. One year and a business partner later, Shelly began a 7-year whirlwind adventure, designing and handcrafting functional art—like ornate picture frames and whimsical clocks— for thousands of clients from Disney to the National Archives. The duo won awards everywhere they went.

But, the more orders she got, the more repetitive the work became, and the more unaccomplished Shelly felt.

So in 1990, she took a break to cover for a props artist on maternity leave. She loved the multi-faceted craft of sculpting, carving, and painting so much that it became her focus for the next seven years. She made store displays and was recruited to create music video backdrops and props for artists like Reba McEntire and Brooks & Dunn.

Shelly’s introduction to large-scale mural painting came while volunteering with Bright Horizons in Albuquerque in 1997. A muralist, who was hired to paint a mural atop the organization’s thrift store, needed help with the project. Knowing Shelly was an artist, the group’s leader volunteered her for the job. “I thought she was crazy,” Shelly says. “I didn’t know anything about painting murals and I had a fear of heights.”

She accepted the challenge, agreeing to help paint 120 feet of wall, 25 feet above ground. She had never felt so alive—the few small murals she’d done during her props career didn’t compare. Instantly, she was hooked.

Over the next few years, Shelly slowly transitioned from props artistry to murals, taking a short 4-year art hiatus to pursue a career as a prison guard, yearning to earn status for hard work, not natural talent. That hard work earned her a Medal of Valor.

Today, Shelly is a thriving muralist and 6-year Odessan, who’s art can be found all over town: a giant purse on N. Grandview Ave., a mural at WOW Fashion Warehouse and paintings in many private homes. She doesn’t advertise; all her clients come to her, having discovered her by word of mouth. And all have become her good friends.

Not wanting to trivialize her artwork, she leaves no name or initials on her pieces—only a thumbprint, hidden in the design.

That humility is what Jason and Kerrie Samp, owners of Basin Compliance and for whom Shelly is currently painting a mural, say they appreciate most about Shelly. “It doesn’t even have to do with her artwork,” Jason says. “It’s how humble she is; how much she loves the community.”

As in each of her creations, Shelly has made her mark in the art world. Not only for her originality and unmatched skill, but because she pours her heart into everything she creates.

“I don’t think I would have ever excelled as much as I have without the support from my family, especially my parents and one of my sisters, Sherry,” Shelly says, reflecting on their growing love and encouragement she received through her artistic metamorphosis. “I never thought of failing because they believed in me, which led to me believing in myself.”