Beautiful Wall Art by Spencer and Lyndsay Stokes of Trackside Murals

Jeff Williams:
Welcome to Community Voices, a production of NPR Illinois. I'm your co-host Jeff Williams. In the studio today, Spencer and Lyndsay Stokes. Hello, Spencer and Lyndsay. (of Trackside Murals)
Lyndsay Stokes:
Thanks for having us.
Jeff Williams:
You might have seen some of their work around Springfield area, also around the St. Louis area. They do a lot of great public art. First off, how did you two start to get into the beautiful oversized outdoor public art works that you guys do?
Lyndsay Stokes:
Well, I'll let Spencer take this one.
Spencer Stokes:
We've kind of both worked with spray paint quite a bit, since we were young and a couple of small projects just started getting larger and larger and to a point where we just, basically working all the time, try to make the biggest artwork, that we can.
Jeff Williams:
So, you guys were kind of did other like 2D art like before that?
Spencer Stokes:
Absolutely, yeah.
Lyndsay Stokes:
We had a lot of really good guidance from art teachers in high school. We had an art teacher, Ms. (Amy) Lynn, shout out to Ms. Lynn, (Chatham) Glenwood High School.
Jeff Williams:
Yeah, I had her in here just like about a week or two ago!
Lyndsay Stokes:
She's great inspiration to Spencer and I always encourage the weird art we were doing. And then we just kind of went from there, really.
Jeff Williams:
Do you remember what the first one’s (murals) you guys did that were public-ish?
Lyndsay Stokes:
Man, we did one a long time ago. Actually, kind of nearby here, the bar that it's called The Library, now. What was it called back in the day?
Spencer Stokes:
Crow's Mill.
Lyndsay Stokes:
Crow's Mill, right?
Jeff Williams:
And it was Bootleggers before that, Bootleggers… Crow's Mill.
Lyndsay Stokes:
That was probably one of the first little things we did.
Spencer Stokes:
Yeah, real public wise, more public. Or I guess, SkankSkates too. I mean, yeah, actually, that was probably really my first, real public things.
Jeff Williams:
Yeah, definitely.
Spencer Stokes:
We still have art there today.
Lyndsay Stokes:
Many years ago.
Jeff Williams:
Right, yeah, absolutely. And you guys did the taco….?
Spencer Stokes:
I did the Taco Joint, yes.
Jeff Williams:
Taco Joint, yeah.
Spencer Stokes:
7th and South Grand… (also) their (other location for Taco Joint), yeah, had both sides of it, as well as the little storage container on the parking lot.
Jeff Williams:
And you guys also, you've been down St. Louis, right? You've been really involved in doing the St. Louis. Talk about that a little bit, so if people from here don't know.
Spencer Stokes:
We've been doing ‘Paint Louis’ down there, which is a huge graffiti art festival on the flood wall for 13, 14 years. 14 years, I think, is what it's going to be this time. We skipped a couple because of the situation in society. We've been doing that for a long time. We've got a lot of friends down there. Last year, we had the opportunity to paint one of the tattoo shops that we've been working at. And also, we were contacted by somebody in Collinsville. There's a really cool instrument music shop there that we painted.
Lyndsay Stokes:
You did, yeah, we did that last year, Swing City.
Jeff Williams:
Oh Yeah! Swing City!
Spencer Stokes:
Oh, yeah, that was one of our largest public murals so far. It was 90 something feet. I mean, the long side of it.
Jeff Williams:
I saw the pictures that you did of that, but I haven't seen it been down there yet, I've been in Swing City before a few times. But yeah, I've got to go down and check that. Yeah, for sure. Any (of you) people from Central Illinois, if you haven't gone down and seen that wall down in St. Louis, you need to get down there.
Lyndsay Stokes:
Oh, it's so great.
Spencer Stokes:
The flood wall.
Jeff Williams:
The flood wall is crazy.
Lyndsay Stokes:
The road is a little bit rough, but it's a great walk, even if you're a bicyclist or you like to walk.
Jeff Williams:
Yeah, the trail. That's right, the bike trail kind of goes (near the flood wall area), I first heard about that from Jeannette Hass. Jeanette was still living in Springfield. She lives in Eugene, Oregon now. She was working at Food Fantasies, also (as Lyndsay was,) back then, back in the day. So, she first told me about that, like I needed to go check that out. And I was like… Oh my!
Spencer Stokes:
That's super cool! Yeah, it's right. It's easy to get to. It's right inside St. Louis. Take that first exit that wraps around the stadium and It's coming up.
Lyndsay Stokes:
Yeah, it's usually early in September.
Spencer Stokes:
Several 100 artists, about 2 1/2 hours worth of walls, all over the world.
Lyndsay Stokes:
We met people from Japan; we met people from Germany. It's amazing the amount of culture that comes through too! Everyone's just putting their time in. You don't get paid to do it.
Spencer Stokes:
I mean, the past several years we've done... 200 to 300 feet of wall in one weekend.
Lyndsay Stokes:
It's usually with a crew.
Spencer Stokes:
It's pretty insane. Usually, we have quite a large group. I think we had close to 20 people last year.
Jeff Williams:
Oh, helping you guys, did you? Yeah, that's cool.
Lyndsay Stokes:
Collective, I should say.
Jeff Williams:
I've gone down there at different times and I've driven past. You see people (and say), “Good job!” They turn and acknowledge it! But yeah, you see the (different) crews out there doing it! I haven't seen you guys out there because, I mean, there's just so much to see and you don't know (where everyone is set up).
Lyndsay Stokes:
Depending on where you're at the wall, you might get tired halfway through and.
Jeff Williams:
Want to get out of here?
Lyndsay Stokes:
There's been years we've been right up front. There's been years we've been more towards the end. It's all good spots, though. We always find a good spot.
Jeff Williams:
A lot of people, they don't think they realize how physical, because the heat and it just can get you. Sometimes it's like, you want days that are overcast but not raining. You know, it's good talk a little about that, just the physical side of (making murals).
Lyndsay Stokes:
Well, for sure. So, the wall is It's very tall in some parts. How tall would you say it is?
Spencer Stokes:
Upwards of like 16 to 18 feet, I think, in the tallest portions. And it's concrete. You're standing on asphalt in the middle of a train yard, which is nothing but rocks and iron and steel. So, everything's just radiating heat when it's early September.
Lyndsay Stokes:
We try to get there early so that the sun is like behind the wall.
Jeff Williams:
So, you have that prime time in the morning. So, when you guys did the one… that (one) tattoo shop right next to Dumb Records. That had to be kind of nice because he probably had more shade than sun (due to building placement).
Spencer Stokes:
It was a lot (better).
Lyndsay Stokes:
Yeah, that was a good alley to do.
Jeff Williams:
Good area to do. And that's a pretty good size one too.
Spencer Stokes:
That's pretty long too. We kind of did that in sections, just kept adding on to it.
Jeff Williams:
Do you guys have any in other locations in central Illinois or?
Spencer Stokes:
Definitely Williamsville. We just did that one last year too. That's a pretty good one. It was through the Illinois tourism.
Jeff Williams:
Illinois tourism. Gotcha. And that one is sort of visible if you were on the train, you'd be able to see that, right? Like passing on the train?
Spencer Stokes:
Yeah, I'm sure you could.
Lyndsay Stokes:
As you're coming to Williamsville, you can kind of look up, it's right there.
Spencer Stokes:
They're moving pretty fast though, so it'd be hard to see.
Jeff Williams:
It is, but a lot of times, like if I'm taking the train up to Chicago or something, I will watch through town, kind of see the different things you can see, but a lot of times you'll see the public art.
Lyndsay Stokes:
Oh, we love that.
Spencer Stokes:
Here we go. There's some other surrounding ones too. So the year prior, we did the big one in Chatham.
Lyndsay Stokes:
Yeah, AJ's Corner.
Spencer Stokes:
AJ's. Oh, yeah, We did one in Nilwood.
Jeff Williams:
Oh, you did the Nilwood? Right down there (Route 4), like on the little clubhouse.
Lyndsay Stokes:
Yeah, super nice guys.
Jeff Williams:
Okay, that's cool. Yeah, I'd seen that before. I didn't realize that was your art.
Lyndsay Stokes:
Wait, and you can stop there any time. They even said that to us. They're like, you know, this is public. You can stop and take your picture.
Jeff Williams:
Are you both doing this full-time now?
Spencer Stokes:
We are, yeah. We got some other side hustles.
Jeff Williams:
Sure! You HAVE to! l have to, yeah. You have to have something else, but we'd like.
Lyndsay Stokes:
To say we're full-time artists, part-time other stuff, right?
Jeff Williams:
So, if people wanted to get a hold of you about... yeah.
Lyndsay Stokes:
I brought a business card.
Jeff Williams:
Oh, there you go!
Lyndsay Stokes:
I mean, we have a website.
Spencer Stokes:
Yeah, tracksidemurals.com.
Jeff Williams:
What's that? Trackside.
Spencer Stokes:
Tracksidemurals.com.
Lyndsay Stokes:
Yep.
Spencer Stokes:
And then contact us with a form on there. So if you're looking for something, you can fill out the form and we get back to you pretty quickly.
Jeff Williams:
So is there any size, like size too large or too small that you'd ever think about taking on.
Spencer Stokes:
Small? Maybe (not), but large! Large heights become a thing, but we deal with it.
Lyndsay Stokes:
We do it all.
Jeff Williams:
So when you're doing that, a lot of times, do you then… as far as the scaffolding or, you know, if you use lifts, If you do have to do something like that, do you just like rent from the area, contact a local place that rents.
Spencer Stokes:
We've got a couple companies here, but we just rent a lift generally. We started out always on ladders and then we got like then like Baker's Scaffold, which we still use that quite a bit. But anymore, it's just more efficient and easier to get a better product if we have the proper equipment, just like anything else.
Jeff Williams:
Just like the lift equipment, right?
Spencer Stokes:
I mean, those big articulating lifts just make it so easy to get exactly where you need to go.
Jeff Williams:
Oh, man.
Spencer Stokes:
Whether you're underneath the awning or, you know, weird places, you know, definitely makes the day a little bit easier when you're done. If you haven't been climbing a ladder all day.
Jeff Williams:
Right, And those lifts, in case anybody is wondering out there, it's like a more or less like kind of a crane sort of a situation. When I've done murals around town, usually, I still am (using) the ladder(s) or little scaffolding and… It's like that is getting you (tired). It's like a full body workout, man.
Spencer Stokes:
Definitely is. A lot of times it's a lot of stepping back to look at what it looks like. What it looks like from a distance because, you know, we're doing big murals. It's not like sitting there painting a smaller canvas. You know, you really got to step back to see the grand picture. what it looks like from a distance.
Jeff Williams:
That's really what kills (you) on the ladder; when you're, up there working on an area, then you get down and you have to just walk way back and look and you (feel) like …. Oh, that needs to be a little different. Okay, let me get back up there up the ladder and change that a little, get back down and take another look and go from there.
Lyndsay Stokes:
It could even be a small little dot too. You're like, oh, just needs a little something right there.
Jeff Williams:
In the ladder, then it's like, it's just out of my reach. Doggone it, I got to take it, move it and move it a little bit. Oh my gosh, that's pretty PTSD, right? All that. I remember I was out there working on one of those art alley murals. I was just using a ladder, but it was a ladder that the person who owned the building right there. Beth Ley lives in that building. It was right around from where Buzz Bomb was. The owner said that (Beth) could like let me in to get that big ladder out there as compared to it. And I was like, oh man, thank you very much. Because it was (a) huge (ladder). So I came outside with the ladder. I stood it straight up. Beth was out there, just started walking her dog around. And it was like a clown show. I had that stupid ladder by the bottom and (mouthing circus, type of music and laughter) I thought I had it in position. It started to go like the other way on me. And I was out there. It was like, I was like running through the stupid parking lot back behind there. And she was like… well…. She was bent over (laughing) and she's like, dude, I am not trying to laugh at you, but if you, I know you hate clowns, but you LOOKED like a clown when you were doing that.
Lyndsay Stokes:
The irony. (laughter)
Jeff Williams:
Exactly! I was like, of ALL the things! (laughter) Anyhow, if there was anything else you guys kind of wanted to talk about?
Lyndsay Stokes:
Well, we do have some upcoming projects. That's yes, projects. I can't really say much, but there's going to be one downtown, a couple of them. But for sure, one that we've got coming up in the next month is at the Wild Thrift & Sniff Thrift Store on the north end on Keys and) Dirksen. We'll be painting on their building soon. So keep a look out for that.
Spencer Stokes:
Within the next week or so.
Lyndsay Stokes:
I think next week the weather breaks for us.
Jeff Williams:
Yeah. Oh, yeah, that's true. It's getting into the season where you can! Have you done many through like the winter?
Lyndsay Stokes:
The latest was November, we got kind of lucky and we were pretty bundled up.
Spencer Stokes:
We got pretty close (in doing) the hotel this year, yeah.
Lyndsay Stokes:
Oh, and the hotel, the Route 66 Hotel, we did last year, we were working through what, October?
Spencer Stokes:
Yeah.
Jeff Williams:
Route 66?, here in Springfield? Southern View, is that right?
Lyndsay Stokes:
Southern View, exactly, since Southern View, so you wouldn't see it unless you're actually in Southern View (hotel parking lot area), but...
Jeff Williams:
I remember when I was working on the one at Unique Enchantments and it was kind of getting into that time of year where the paint's not drying as fast and then the rain starts to roll in and it's like, oh my God, it's like, what do you do? I was like, I'm going to leave. I don't even want to see this. I'll just come back tomorrow. There's nothing I can do right now!
Lyndsay Stokes:
And I mean, I have a video of Spencer painting in the rain, spray painting in the rain, he's trying to use cardboard, he's trying to spray paint under the cardboard like a madman!
Spencer Stokes:
Hey, it’s great makeshift… We set up with tarps and...
Lyndsay Stokes:
We're getting this done!
Jeff Williams:
Trying to work. Getting to the wall.
Spencer Stokes:
The next day with towels, like trying to dry the sponge out.
Jeff Williams:
That's true.
Lyndsay Stokes:
We don't want to leave that unfinished piece.
Jeff Williams:
No, you have got to do that.
Lyndsay Stokes:
Rain or shine, we try to get it done.
Jeff Williams:
Hope for the best after that, though, for sure. You guys have never gone up and done ArtPrize, right? Up in (Grand Rapids, Michigan)...
Spencer Stokes:
We haven't, no.
Jeff Williams:
Yeah. I mean, I know that some people from around here have gone up and done that. It was kind of a cool thing. Whomever the... politician or the family who put the money up to start that, because then it's like you turned it into a huge tourism thing for the town of Grand Rapids. You know what I mean? It was like a super good idea. They put that first money up. That seems to pay off for it because, like you said, the same as St. Louis (where you’ve) got (these) internationally recognized artists who are coming to those sort of things. I haven't been up to Grand, well, I have been to Grand Rapids, but I haven't been up there lately to see the transformation of that. But I've seen pictures and it's pretty stinking cool.
Spencer Stokes:
Yeah, we'd love to see something like that here. We've kind of talked about things before. Obviously, the tourism board is definitely doing some work and, you know, obviously the new transit hub over there, I was fortunate enough to help on that, you know.
Jeff Williams:
Oh, did you? Okay, that's cool.
Spencer Stokes:
Helped to install the one on the east side of the wall. We've done a couple projects with them so far. I think we're going to have a couple more this year. And they're trying.
Lyndsay Stokes:
Yeah, the tourism board has been really great. They've been working with us and just, we appreciate that they keep reaching out to us and keep giving us walls to paint.
Jeff Williams:
Once people realize or see that it's okay, you know, then it kind of opens up a little bit more. Sometimes people think, like way back when it was kind of a newer thing, (some felt it was) dangerous, you know what I mean?
Lyndsay Stokes:
Yeah, graffiti. Right, like, it's graffiti, my gosh, what's that? Which I can't (deny), some of our creativity did spar from that… definitely!
Spencer Stokes:
Led from that for sure.
Lyndsay Stokes:
It's a beautiful thing.
Jeff Williams:
It's exactly, and all is a cool thing.
Spencer Stokes:
But there's so much opportunity in this town. I mean, so many walls that are blank or even abandoned buildings, especially downtown right now, we're not struggling.
Jeff Williams:
Right, exactly.
Spencer Stokes:
You know, why not bring more art downtown and give people a reason to come down there, even just to walk around and when you can walk around, you can stop in all the little places, you know?
Jeff Williams:
Absolutely.
Spencer Stokes:
All the shops and restaurants and bars.
Jeff Williams:
What's good, like in the last, it was either late summer or early fall, I can't remember, some people who were organizing a bike ride, they asked me, they're like, hey, would you, Would you come and kind of just show us around the murals?
Lyndsay Stokes:
I saw that. was really cool. Yeah.
Jeff Williams:
They asked me just kind of last minute and I actually was just was going to go on the ride. And then they're (asking), do you know anything (about who made this mural)? I (said), well, yeah, as a matter of fact. And so it was cool because I was able to give information about a lot of the different spots. But (anyhow, Spencer) that's a great idea to have more of that happen. And the thing is, it's not like a huge investment for the city either, really. Not compared to other things.
Spencer Stokes:
I mean, it's got some zeros, but it's not millions.
Jeff Williams:
Exactly, not nearly what it can be for some things, and it makes just as much of a ‘wow!’ factor…. a lot of times as something that you're spending millions on! All right, well. Spencer, Lyndsay, thank you so much!
Lyndsay Stokes:
Thank you for having us!
Jeff Williams:
And we will see you guys out there, maybe up on the lift or something!
Spencer Stokes:
Check us out on Facebook and Instagram, both under Trackside Murals. Come say ‘HI’ to us while we're at the wall!
Lyndsay Stokes:
Yeah, we love when people stop and say hi.
Jeff Williams:
Love it. Oh! and Floyd's? You did that at Floyd's, right?
Lyndsay Stokes:
Like a little meet and greet!
Jeff Williams:
All right, guys. Well, thanks a lot for coming in. Both Lyndsay and Spencer:
Thank you for having us.
Jeff Williams:
Community Voices is a production of NPR, Illinois.