WAO Muralists
Travel the wild imagination of these creative and visual artists, fueled by experiences, passion for change, a desire for a better world, and a calling for We Are One.
Travel the wild imagination of these creative and visual artists, fueled by experiences, passion for change, a desire for a better world, and a calling for We Are One.
Amber Terriaco is best known as a grassroots activist and as the Co-Founder & Executive Director of Artists for Artists, a Houston based 501(c)3 nonprofit arts organization. What many people don’t know is that Amber is also a classically trained artist who took a 10-year hiatus to expand her skillset in the world of global branding, hotel, and retail development.
Driven by an innate desire to create and build a sustainable future for her 11-year old son, Amber has returned to her roots. In addition to designing and managing the charitable public art program, TX:US Little Galleries, Amber recently launched CultureX Creative, focused on building a future where art and creativity are a sustainable, enriching, and expected part of our daily lives.
RayTrill Harvey is a multimedia artist from Houston TX. She got her start during the pandemic after, like most of us, she was laid off. Raychel picked up a paintbrush and never stopped painting since that day. Shortly after, a friend introduced her to a can of spray paint and she fell deeply in love with the art of graffiti and creating murals and quickly climbed the ranks in Texas painting with some of the best artists in the area. When she’s not spray painting you can find her building her skoolie and traveling to find hidden street art around the world.
Philippines native Dandee Danao, better known by his eponym Dandee Warhol, is a distinguished figure in the contemporary Houston art circuit. Valued for his distinctive aesthetic, which draws upon the influence of pop art as well as popular culture, Danao is also recognized as a dynamic collaborator, curator, and visionary. Danao’s works often depict iconic cartoon characters, alienated from their original backdrops and partaking in counter-culture recreation. While edgy, the images also inspire nostalgia, because the characters themselves were central to the 1980s and 90s cultural landscape. In this way, his work likens that of his namesake Warhol because of its ironic use of popular media subject matter. Meticulously designed geometric patterns characterize a majority of his pieces. Danao is self-taught and colorblind, two idiosyncrasies that grant his style definition. He is familiar with a broad range of techniques and experimentation (including aerosol, oil, and tape), though he works chiefly with acrylic on panels. His style exhibits a purity of lines, undetectable brushstrokes, and arrangement of contrasting colors.
Shortly after establishing himself in the local arts scene, Danao founded War’Hous Visual Studios, an art space, and assemblage of creative talent providing services including art consultation, design, and curation. Working through the studio, he demonstrated an avid commitment to the local and underground art community by coordinating eclectic shows and showcasing the city’s emerging talents. The intersection of talent provides a backdrop where he and his creative contemporaries best thrive. Past collaborators of his include, among others, Houston muralist Daniel Anguilu, Cirque du Soleil, Texas Children’s Hospital, and the Lawndale Art Center. Recently, Danao established a non-profit division of the company, War’Hous foundation, with the intention of enlisting local artists to develop art therapy programs for children.
Just one year after emerging in the Houston art scene, Dandee Danao was awarded the Reader’s Choice Best Artist of the Year by the Houston Press and was featured in The New York Times for his first solo show (2011). The recognition indicates the completeness with which he represents the city of Houston’s diversified taste.
Nicky Davis’ art is an exploration into the ghost covered, rainbow splashed underworld of his imagination. Influenced from Saturday morning cartoons, graffiti covered walls, and long hikes through the wilderness; his body of work tries to make sense of nature, society, and what the hell it is that we are all doing here.
His illustrative style is consistent across a diverse range of mediums, including: Designer Toys, Murals, Fine art, and Merchandise. His work has been included in gallery exhibitions worldwide and his murals have been featured by numerous festivals such as: Pow Wow Worldwide, Awall Festival, Wild West Mural Fest, IllFest, Hue Festival, and more. Nicky collaborates with many corporations to spread his art including: NASA, Target, Red Bull, Splash Water, and more.
Nicky Davis is a visual artist living and working in Houston, Texas. He received his Bachelors of Fine Arts from the University of Houston.
Houston based visual artist, Monica Melgar, has been pursuing her professional art career for the past 9 years. Although she studied Graphic Communication at the Art Institute of Houston, her painting skills are self taught. It all started from her constant doodling in high school that she used to relax her stressed mind.
During her childhood her parents moved back and forth between Mexico and the U.S. and as a result, her artistic expressions are influenced by the vivid colors and delicate patterns found in Mexican artisanry. Her painting style has now changed from tiny dashes to fine linework that create abstract images that sometimes take on an accidental form of a flower or a sea creature. Most of her recent paintings are made with acrylic gouache paint that allows her to use very fine paint brushes and fine lines that mimic a fine marker.
Since getting her first studio at Spring Street Studios in 2014, she’s had a solo show, been a featured artist in various venues, and participated in many group shows amongst some of Houston’s most talented artists. She’s spent countless hours volunteering in various committees to plan and execute group exhibitions and community events.
Her paintings and plastic sculptures have been shown in solo exhibitions and group shows throughout the Houston area and recently in Austin. Her works belong to many private collections in the U.S. and Mexico.
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