During the past few years, Enid has become more colorful by way of several murals that have been painted around town. The murals have in large part been aided by the skill sets of Kelly and Ty Tompkins and Tox Murillo. Many of the murals occupy a space that was barren previously, and the colorful displays have become yet another thing Enid is known for.
Kelly Tompkins was director of Main Street Enid until right before the pandemic, and started Hive Appeal with her husband, Ty. Public art was still being funded during the shutdowns, and that helped Hive Appeal continue to grow. There have been dozens of murals completed in Enid since 2015, and more continue to grace the sides of buildings. The murals honor local history, pop culture and the sacrifices of veterans, among many other meanings.
Tompkins said growing up in Enid, she said she didn’t feel she fit in as an artist, but after moving to Austin, Texas, in the 1990s, saw an example of how colorful a city can truly be.
“While I was the director of Main Street Enid from 2012-19, we infused all kinds of art into events and projects – a lot of live music, giant traveling ladybugs, performing arts, etc.,” Tompkins said. “In 2015, thanks to help from Traci Conrady of Conrady Electric, Steven Mackie, and OneOK, Inc. on behalf of Bert Mackie, we were able to start the Downtown Enid Mural Program. Each new mural inspired two more and Enid has gained at least 45 new outdoor murals since 2015, by 19 artists or teams. The colorful art brings attention to places and gives Enid natural promotion thanks to people posting photos on social media.”
Tompkins said the executive directors of Main Street Enid before her and after her have all made it a goal to incorporate more public art into Enid, and that it is special to see how much art has been added to the community. She said the mural at Park Avenue Thrift is the 14th outdoor mural she and her husband have worked on, as well as four indoor murals. She said she helped coordinate four murals downtown and was an adviser to the Public Arts Commission of Enid through the process of approving the mural at the Enid Skate Park. She said they have a specific goal for each mural they paint.
“For each mural, we strive to meet the customer’s goal to create what they want represented, along with our goals of uplifting spirits, brightening people’s days, and making people smile,” Tompkins said.
Tox Murillo, who grew up in the Los Angeles area and has lived in Enid for about eight years, said he started painting murals around town in 2019. He said prior to murals, he was doing custom paint jobs on cars and motorcycles. He said painting murals is different from vehicles, as he feels there is more artistic recognition that comes with painting murals, which he said he paints for the community. He said some of his customers with custom paint jobs would take the credit for the artwork, which allows him to receive more credit for the work through murals.
“Right now that I’m doing murals, it’s another story,” Murillo said. “Because nobody else can take the credit. People who love art want recognition, so that made me sad at one time, but right now that’s a different story. I feel really good and I feel like it’s a good way to share with people. Because me being Hispanic, it’s a different feeling now because I’ve done different jobs. I was doing maintenance before, so people treat you different.
“Right now that I’m doing this kind of work, I feel really happy because I feel like I’m doing something for the community and at the same time people can understand more about myself. It’s always good to share with people and always good to know they take you seriously. To me it’s a win-win, because I can share myself and the community can enjoy my work as well. Every time I paint a mural for the community, I feel like they like it, so it’s a good feeling.”
There is now more of an opportunity for those in Enid to take more artistic pride in their community, which Murillo said he is happy to be a part of. Tompkins said it is great to be able to drive around town and notice all the color that has been added, especially to walls that may have gone unnoticed before. She said it is also great to see the variety of murals that have been completed by nine local artists as well as artists and teams who came from other areas to help make Enid more colorful.
Tompkins said the beautification of a city through artwork is important for variety of reasons.
“Public art makes our town more Instagrammable, is used for marketing our community, elevates our city’s brand, encourages walking, increases community pride by showing places are valued, adds to quality of life, belonging, tourism, and foot traffic for businesses,” Tompkins said. “Art sparks creativity and innovation in others and our young people, and often leads to nearby improvements. All of this helps people want to live here and build businesses here.”
Kelly and Ty Tompkins, as well as Tox Murillo, were honored at the Chamber of Commerce awards banquet with the 2023 Civic Improvement Award. Kelly Tompkins said they haven’t collaborated directly together with Murillo on a mural yet, but was happy to see him recognized for his talents. She said she was also proud to see her husband, Ty, be recognized, as he has helped with numerous murals around town.
“It was wonderful to be recognized with the Civic Improvement award by the Enid Chamber of Commerce,” Tompkins said. “We are always trying to make as much difference as we can, in the ways that we can, and imagining what we can do in the near and distant future. We have four metal projects currently in the works, being built locally by EH Metal Works and SpenCo Metal Works. We’re also designing things to ‘level up’ common amenities for communities.”
With a sense of pride being present for those who help make Enid more colorful through public art, it is a special feeling. Murillo said it just makes him really happy to know that he is creating artwork that can be enjoyed by all in the community.
“You’re going to be able to inspire people, even kids,” Murillo said. “The thing that it is something really special because they are going to grow up seeing this kind of art around their town and I feel like they are going to be more confident to do their own things.”















