Spring of 2020 painted a vacant scene in downtown Houston. The once-busy intersections may have looked like a ghost town, but for Ray Redding, aka TexasRedd, the empty pavement became a pallet of possibilities.
For 30 years, Redding has made a name for himself as a live music photographer in Houston. But when the pandemic halted live shows, he decided to make the most of the great outdoors and explore the city’s miles of bike trails. That’s when he discovered art where he least expected it.
“Think about the nature of riding a bike. You are always looking down to make sure you don’t hit a pothole,” said Redding. “As I’m riding, I start seeing a pattern show up. I’m looking at shapes, texture, and color, and it just so happens the pallet is the street, literally passing beneath my wheels.”
Redding is referring to spray-painted concrete temporarily tattooed by road crews that know exactly what each colored line or “X” means. Add the sun baking down on these urban hieroglyphics and cars driving over them, and Redding saw something spectacular.
“If you look at just little segments at a time, there’s a really interesting story going on there. I realized I had never seen the street in this kind of way,” added Redding.
Some of his street art is geometric in nature and resemble flags; others are more subtle or look like naturally occurring graffiti.
Redding hopes people will look at this new art project and realize, if you tune into your surroundings, you can always find the elements of art.
Ray Redding has gained an international following on social media for his inspiring photography. Follow him on Instagram at @texasreddimages.
